The Beginning of the End
by Cracklingllamas
Summary: Sequal to Independance Day! If you haven't read that...then this will really not make much sense! Caskett, of course. :D
1. Chapter 1

_**It's HERE! :D :D :D cue the music! **__**Wooooo! Dum da da dummmm! **__**Oh goodness this is exciting :) …well I dunno…it is for me…for everyone else it might just be like…ehh whatever. :) But I'm ok with that! :D**_

_**Ok…and first of all, if you haven't read Independence day, this really will make no sense…I mean, go ahead…read yourself silly…just don't expect to understand :)**_

_**Second of all, I'm like…oober sorry this took so long to actually get posted. I mean like…I've had the ideas for it and stuff foorrreevverrr…but I've just been gone for too long…sooo…sorry. :) but now I've got like absolutely NOTHING until school starts, so we're good!**_

_**And also, a little thingy I would just like to make known to the world, I have officially been peed on by an NYPD police horse belonging to an officer who looks EXACTLY like Esposito! My shoes are now ruined, but I have an EPIC picture! :D**_

_**Castle tis'nt mine! :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Ryan and Esposito had been watching their boss closely for the previous few hours. They hadn't been told where she had been vacationing for the last week, but they suspected it had a significant something to do with retrieving a certain novelist. So, naturally, when she returned, alone, they had been preparing themselves to deal with a somewhat heartbroken detective. But Beckett returned with anything but a sour attitude. She was smiling much more than was in character for her, she never sat for more than 20 minutes, and, on top of it all, she never had even one cup of coffee. Then, there was Lanie. She came up to visit them on slow days every once in a while, but today, she had been up in the homicide department since the moment Beckett got back-with the exception of one or two trips down to her office. The pair tried asking her what was going on, but she just answered saying that they'd know soon enough.

They had been starting to think that they were the only ones out of the loop, when they got called into the captain's office.

"Alright you two," Montgomery said after he had closed the door, "Could one of you please tell me what's going? Dr. Parish has been loitering in the break room since the morning, and Beckett is practically buzzing out there."

"You have no idea how much we wish we had an answer, Sir." Ryan told him.

"Yah, we're just as confused as you are." Esposito added, "And when we asked Lanie, she only said that we'd know soon enough."

Montgomery had just opened his mouth to respond when there was a knock on the door. A second later, it creaked open, and the group saw Lanie's head poke in.

"Sorry to break up the party," She said, then, gesturing out the door, added, "But I believe the show is about to start."

She then moved out of the way, and Ryan Esposito and Captain Montgomery all filed out of the office to see Castle striding across the bullpen with a determined look on his face, towards the break room where Beckett was.

...ooo...ooo...ooo...ooo...

He hadn't even thought to pack his bags. It had taken him a minute or two to actually start breathing normally again after her lips had left his, and before he actually had enough sense in him to remember that he had to go after her. But by the time he got out of the door, the car was just rounding the corner at the end of his street.

So he ended up not really thinking that much. He made a call to his driver, grabbed his laptop, wallet, and cell phone, and headed out the front door.

"Where to, Mr. Castle?" His driver, Ernie, asked when he got into the back of the limo.

"New York City." He stated.

"Alrighty. Why the sudden change of heart? I only dropped ya' off here less than a month ago... Ya' said then that you'd be spendin' the whole of the summer out here." Ernie asked. Then, at the lack of response, he looked in the review mirror to see Castle staring out the window, a far off look in his eyes. "Ahh," Ernie realized, "It's about a woman. I get'cha."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Castle was glad that Ernie didn't push the subject. He didn't want to have to explain what was going on... Especially since he didn't know himself.

Well...he did understand some of it. For instance, he understood that had been a complete idiot. Even when his own mother had practically flat out told him. God, he was stupid.

...ooo...ooo...ooo...ooo...

She didn't know how long it would take. It wouldn't surprise her if he decided to stay there, in the Hamptons, just to make her squirm. However, Castle's maturity had surprised her in the past, so she was hoping he would sooner than later.

But she hadn't expected to be here this quickly. She heard the elevator ding; indicating somebody coming onto the floor, and her eyes flickered upward. Their eyes met, and she felt her heart pound as he walked across the room. Something in his eyes was captivating her, and although she could see all of the people in the room watching, it didn't register in her mind, and her feet kept rooted to the ground where she was standing.

He stopped but a mere foot in front of her. After just standing in silence for a short moment, he wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her body against his. Then, as soon as their lips touched, the atmosphere in the entire floor changed. The tension between the two broke, and they fell into a deep and passionate kiss. Outside of the break room, Ryan and Esposito shot each other knowing looks and bumped fists, Montgomery shook his head with a smile and retreated back into  
his office, Lanie grinned and got hit the down button on the elevator so she could go back to the morgue. The rest of the room broke into smiles and left to go back to doing their own thing.

Castle and Beckett eventually broke their kiss, solely for the need of oxygen, but kept their faces just a mere few inches away from each others. Beckett's eyes flickered behind them, and her brain registered how public of a place they were in. She took a small step back and bit her lip.

She swept past him, motioning for him to follow her. They towards an empty interrogation room, Castle went in first, and Beckett followed him, closing the door behind her, and pausing with her hand still on the handle, facing away from him.

"Thank you." Castle said, so quietly she barely heard it. She turned around to face him, and saw him leaning against the table in the center of the room.

"For what?" She asked, eyeing him cautiously.

"For not being as much of a complete idiot as I was." He said with a shrug, "For seeing the things I didn't. For actually knocking some sense into me."

"You're not an idiot. I only figured it all out a little while before you did." She told him with a smile.

"Figure what out, exactly?" He asked her, a smile playing at his lips. She felt her stomach turn slightly at his question. She walked across the room and leaned against the table next to him. When he looked over at her, he found her staring blankly at the wall, deep in thought about how she was going to put together her words.

"When I was told to bring you in for questioning during the Tisdale case, I didn't know what to think. You were my favorite author, and had been for a long time. But then…when you decided to start shadowing me, and I had no control over it, it was just…_irritating_. I wasn't used to having somebody like you around. But then, although I would never had admitted it to myself at the time, I started looking forward to seeing you everyday…seeing what crazy theories you came up with about the cases and hearing all of your witty jokes. Then, on the days that you were gone, something felt…missing. I guess I didn't really know what that was until you told me that you were going to take a break for the summer. I started to realize how prominent of a part you played in my life. And then Esposito…he made me realize what I was too naive to see on my own…" She took a deep breath and broke her eyes away from the blank spot on the wall to look him directly in the eyes, "That I was falling in love with you."

The corners of his lips turned upward, and, instead of the deep and meaningful monologue that Kate suspected would be coming from the writer, he only reached over and grabbed her hand, then turned his head and looked forward in silence.

Her heart fluttered at how good his hand felt around hers. She bit her lip with a smile and mimicked him by looking straight ahead at nothing. They sat like that for a while; just enjoying being in each other's presence, before Castle finally spoke up.

"So," He asked, looking over at her with one eyebrow raised, "What do we do now?"

"Well," She said, crooking her head to the side, then looking at him again, "We don't have a case right now. I doubt Montgomery would mind me taking the rest of the day off."

"Great," He said happily, a playful look forming in his eyes, "I make a mean spaghetti and meatballs. Want to come over for dinner?"

She bit her lip and quickly thought it through. She knew full well what a dinner at Castle's empty apartment could very well entitle, but instead of scaring her silly like it should have, she only felt a strong thrill running through her at the thought. So, with a smile, she responded with a simple "Sure," and happily linked arms with him as they strode out of the small room together.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ok! Well…I basically hated that. It just…I dunno, didn't seem to work, in my mind. Icky icky icky. Im having problems trying to figure out where I'm gonna go with this… :/ aaannndddd, I would just like to say EW, in response to Becketts whole little love shpheel (dang that's a hard made up word to try to spell…). I REALLY don't like writing all that lovey dovey mush stuff. Its like…ew…just…ew. :)**_

_**Annddd second, I had like…already written half of chapter 2 before I even finished writing this chapter (NOT my best idea ever…) and then I was going to keep writing this chappy until it caught up to that one…but then it started getting longerrr…and I kinda just wanted to end it where it was…. :) sooo yah…I think I'm just gonna let you all use your imaginations to fill in the gaps between where this chap ends and where the next starts :)**_

_**AAnnddd lastlyy, I would reaalllyyy enjoy it if you'd all review…because, like…I dunno, I don't have a whole lot of motivation right now…and that's where you all come in! Sooo click that button! :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Dadadadaaa….next chapterrr!**_

_**Alrighty…so like I said in the last chapter…theres kinda a large-ish gap between where last chapter left off and where this one starts…cuz ya know, I'm 15 and am not gonna go into detail in…that. :)**_

_**Aaannnddd…I don't have much else to say…soooo here weee goooo!**_

_**Not minee, never will bee :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Beckett awoke to the sound of clattering pans outside of the bedroom she was in. She instinctively reached for the gun she kept in her bedside table drawer. However, when her hand hit empty air where the wooden table should have been, she felt her face pale in panic. Another crash from outside the room sounded, followed by an all too familiar voice yell out "Ow!"

Realization flooded over her as she looked down at her body, only covered by light sheet that was messily strewn over the bed. The pale color of her cheeks changed quickly to red as memories from the previous night hit her. She let her head fall back onto the fluffy pillow beneath her, biting her lip with a grin as she listened to the thudding footsteps coming from through the floors, accompanied by the occasional clatter of metal.

Eventually, when her growling stomach got to be too much to bear, Kate sat up, looking around the room and facing the predicament as to what she should wear. Her blouse, she saw, was lying on the floor, in a less than wearable state. Then, her eyes strayed over to Castle's shirt from the previous night, lying on the opposite side of the room. She grinned, thinking about what Castle would think about seeing her in his clothes.

She dressed quickly, and made her way to the door. On her way over, the mirror on the wall caught her eye, and when she stopped to try to make her knotted hair a little more presentable, she couldn't help but grin at her appearance.

When she got downstairs, she found Castle in the kitchen, wearing boxers and a button up shirt that matched the one she had borrowed. A smirk formed on her face when she saw what he was making, remembering the last time he had made her pancakes in the morning.

"Good morning, _Rick_." She said, loving the way it felt to use his first name.

"Good morning, Ka-" He broke off for a moment when he turned and saw her attire, then added, "Ohh, I love your choice of clothing. Suits you perfectly."

"Well, I would have worn my own clothes, but I'm afraid they are somewhat ruined." She raised an eyebrow at him, "Thank you very much."

"Well, it didn't seem like you minded too much...at the time." He said with a smug grin on his face. She hid the blush that crept up onto her face by looking down and taking a bite of the pancakes he had just served her.

Rick sat down across from her with his own plate, and had just opened his mouth to speak when a loud ringing started protruding from Beckett's phone on the table where she had left it the night before. She shot him an apologetic look and flipped it open.

"Beckett."

"Heyyy Beckett," Ryan greeted in a sing songy voice, "How ya doin'?"

"Great," She said with a roll of her eyes, "What's up?"

"We've got a body. 1279 Fritz Street."

"Ok...we'll be there...soon." She told, not wanting to make a specific time limit.

"Mmm, you and Castle already together then, are you?" He asked smugly.

"Goodbye, Ryan." She said, closing the phone quickly, before he had a chance to say anything more.

"Murder?" Castle asked, the light in his eyes equivalent to that of a child's on Christmas morning.

"Yep," she said, standing up and taking his already empty plate from him and bringing it over to the sink, "Hurry up and get ready, we'll have to stop at my place to get me some...clothes."

"Ohh, but Beckett," he half whined, walking up behind her and snaking his arms around her waist, "you look so good in my clothes! And, just think about what everyone's faces would be like if you showed at the crime scene like this."

She spun around in her arms, and he effectively kept her trapped between him and the counter. He was looking at her intently, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

"Hmm," she said, pretending to ponder his suggestion, "You know, I think I'm going to have to take a rain check on that." She patted his chest, the ducked quickly under his arm, escaping his hold, and going to clear the rest of the dishes on the counter. "Now, hurry up and get ready. I don't want the guys thinking...never mind."

She watched him as he reluctantly made his way up the stairs. Then, as she was wiping the syrup from the counter, the sound of jingling keys, and then a lock turning, from the door to his apartment had her falling quickly to her knees, taking cover behind the counter.

"Richard, dear? Are you home?" Kate heard the voice of none other than Martha Rodgers yell out. Almost the exact same moment his mother called out, Castle turned the faucet of the shower on, thus not hearing anything.

Beckett realized that he wouldn't hear and come down, and she felt her stomach drop. She didn't think she would be able to bear it being caught by his mother wearing only one of her sons shirts. She listened closely to the thudding of footsteps, and slowly crept her way around the opposite side of the island as Martha made her way into the kitchen.

Beckett slowly peered over the top of the counter, then, when she saw Martha's back turned to her, she stood up and silently bolted towards the stairs. She took them 2 at a time, and was just about to reach the safety of the opposite side of the wall that Martha was on, when…

"Detective Beckett?" Kate froze, and her breath caught in her throat as she waited to see if Martha would say anything else, "What are you doing here?"

Kate poked her head around the corner of the wall, hiding her body from Martha's sight, "Oh, just… visiting."

Martha eyed her suspiciously before walking out of the kitchen and closer to the stairs, where she had full view of Beckett's attire. "Oh, I see…_visiting_." Kate closed her eyes in mortification, then, when she reopened them, was relieved to see Martha grinning and making her way back into the kitchen, "No need to be embarrassed, dear. Trust me, I've found Richard's _women_ in much worse conditions than you are in."

"Right…" Kate said awkwardly, looking longingly up the staircase, "I think I'm just going to…"

"Oh, of course dear. So sorry to have interrupted anything. I'll just come back and see Richard later." Martha said, then picked up her purse, and, completely unfazed, walked back out the door to the apartment.

The moment she heard the click of the door shutting, Kate bolted up the stairs and into Castle's room, where she found him just coming out of the shower. He opened his mouth to say something, but she held a finger out to silence him.

"The next time, _this_, happens," She said, "We're doing it at my place."

"Although I'm very glad you plan on it happening again," He said with a smirk, "why, exactly, can't it happen here again?"

"Your mother." She stated simply, raising an eyebrow at him and watching at his eyes widened.

"Oh god…not again,"

"Mhmm," She said, "But, I'm curious, how often _does_ your mom walk in on you?"

"Let's just say that my mother seems to have been given a curse that urges her to check on me whenever I am…otherwise involved." He told her, then added, "You should just be happy she was late this time…"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Miss Parish," Esposito said as he walked into the morgue, Ryan following close behind him, "I do believe you owe us some money."

"And what makes you think that?" She asked him.

"The Castle and Beckett pool," Ryan told her with a smirk.

"Yep, we put our money on this week…and, according to their little make-out session yesterday," Esposito said.

"It looks like we won," Ryan finished.

"Actually," Lanie said, walking to her desk and pulling out a small calendar "Yesterday was the first day you two would have won it, and their _first_ kiss was the day _before_ yesterday." At their bewildered expressions, she opened the bloated envelope attached to the back of the calendar and pulled out to large wad of money, "Which would mean that _I_ would win."

"But…" Esposito said, "How…"

"What…?" Ryan added.

"Oh come on," Lanie said impatiently, "You two _really_ thought that Castle just had some sort of random epiphany after all this time and just decided to come after her? Please, I know you guys aren't that dumb."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"I think you should let me drive, _Kate_." Castle told her as they walked out of her apartment together.

"Not happening, _Castle_. We have to keep things normal at work…which means, in the precinct, I'm still Beckett." She told him, walking around to the driver's seat of the car, and watching him as he reluctantly got in the passenger seat.

"I know, I know. But, I don't understand why we have to…it's not like we're going to be a secret…not after yesterday."

Beckett felt her stomach turn at his statement, as she realized how true it was. Not only would all of the precinct know by now, but it would only be a matter of the paparazzi got a hold of more info about them. Of course, everybody who saw the magazines from the past weeks were all already under the impression that they were together…but now that they really were, would it be different? Memories of previous internal battles with herself were brought to mind…about all the times she had thought about what having a relationship with him would entitle. There would always be the press, no matter what they did or where they went…and then there was his reputation. How long would it be until he went to a book signing alone, and ended up spending the night with some young blonde bimbo?

"Something's bothering you…"Castle said suddenly, breaking Kate from her thoughts.

"What makes you say that?" She said, quickly clearing her mind of all thoughts and concentrating on the road ahead of her.

"Well, for a few minutes there, you had that far off look in your eyes, and you got that little crease in between your eyebrows…not to mention, you just aren't that hard to read when you're not focused on masking whatever you're thinking about." He said. Kate looked over at him and saw him staring back intently at her. With a sigh, she realized that there was no point in arguing with him…he knew her too well.

"I'm…worried." She said, looking over at him, then back at the road, "I know it's probably pointless…but I can't stop thinking about what will come bundled along with…_us_. There's the press, the fans, the _ex's_…"

"You're right…" He told her, "It is pointless. Yah, the press in a pain in the butt…but we've already dealt with that, and handled it pretty well, if you ask me. The fans…I'm guessing you're talking more specifically about the girl fans, and I'll have you know that I haven't seen anything in them, more than gratitude for their support of my books, since about a day or two after I met you. And…as for the ex's…well, they're ex's for a reason, Kate."

A small smile formed on her face, but she remained silent and kept her eyes on the road. When they got out of the car at the crime scene, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head into his chest and taking a deep breath.

"Thank you," She told him, keeping her arms around him and her face hidden.

"Anytime, KB, anytime."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ehh, I'm not a huge fan of the whole "KB" nickname for Kate…so don't be expecting to hear it a lot in the story…but it just sorta seemed to fit there a lot better than a different name would have…**_

_**Hmm, and once again…I'm just not a big fan of writing the mushy fluffy lovey dovey stuffs…but I've gotten a lot of feedback from people saying that they like reading it…sooo I'd like to thank eevveerrryyooonnneee for all the reviews and stuff…because otherwise…I dunno…these things would be a whole heckalot harder to write :D**_

_**But…that goes for the next chapter too…review aannddd it'll be here ffaster aaannnddd it'll be better if I get peoples ideas and crap on things… soooo REVIEW! :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Whooaa, sorry this one took longer than normal to get out…the words just weren't flowing…and so I just kept leaving the computer and forgetting about it… hehe :)**_

_**Sooo…I've decided that I'm actually going to include like…a real crime that they're solving to go along with the next few chapters…cuz like…I don't have enough stuff to put in each chappy :) Buuuttt…as much as I kinda wish I were, I'm not a certified detective, and I've never solved a real murder…so if I get stuff wrong, I'm sorry…and there always seems to be that one person reading who knows aaallllll about this stuff and likes to point out where the facts are wrong…so I'd just like to say now that yes, I will be making up a whole crapload of it…and I know it's going to be very fake…ish :D**_

_**And nowww…there isn't anything left to sayyy sooo…here we goooo! :D**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"What've we got, Lanie?" Beckett asked as she walked up to her friend kneeling over the body in the shabby looking motel room.

"Amber Jensen, 43 years old, mother of 6, 8 months pregnant with twins. Two gunshots through the chest killed her, but there was a knife involved too. Cuts on her back were made just before she died. Mr. Dickens, the motel owner, found the body when he came to clean the room. Husband was just notified…he's been badgering the police about her being missing since yesterday when she didn't come home for dinner, but they wouldn't start the search until she'd been gone for 48 hours."

"Do we know who had the room last?" Beckett asked, staring blankly at the body.

"Mmm, yah," Lanie said, looking down at a note sheet she had in front of her, "Mark Taylor, checked out this morning around 7."

"Alright, thanks," She said, then walked back over to where Castle, Ryan, and Esposito were talking to Mr. Dickens.

"You live in the room connected to the one Ms. Jensen was killed in…are you sure you didn't hear anything?" Ryan was asking the man.

"No, no, I'm hard of hearing, and I was already in bed." Said the old man, still visibly shaken by the body.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Dickens." Beckett said, leading the threesome away from the old man.

"What was that? We still had questions for him," Ryan said, annoyed.

"He's an old man who probably just almost had a heart attack. We weren't going to get anything good out of him until he was out of his shock." Beckett stated simply, and then said to Ryan and Esposito, "You two go back to the precinct and pull up anything we've got on Mark Taylor. Castle and I are going to go talk to the husband."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Oh God…" Beckett heard Castle say as they approached the house. Two of the front windows were smashed, and they could vaguely hear the high pitched noise of several children screaming inside.

"Take this and stay here," Beckett said hurriedly, tossing a small walkie talkie at Castle and grabbing her gun.

"Wait…you can't go in there by yourself! What if there are people in there?" Castle said. Beckett felt her heart pang at the worry in his eyes, but she couldn't waste time.

"There _are_ people in there, Castle. Children. I'm not just going to wait out here when they could be in trouble." She said, before shutting the door and running towards the house, gun at the ready.

When she got to the front door, she found that it was unlocked, which probably meant that whoever the intruder was had already left. Beckett didn't know whether to be relieved or more worried because of that. She ran up the stairs, towards the source of the shouting. At the end of the hallway, she saw multiple pairs or small feet sticking out.

"Daddy! Daddy wake up!" She heard one small voice yell out desperately.

"Daddy!" Another voice sobbed.

Beckett slowly rounded the corner into the room. She quickly lowered her gun and grabbed the walkie talkie out and pressed the call button.

"Castle…you should come up here now. I'm going to need your help with this one." She said quietly, then put away the device before she heard the reply.

She then walked up slowly to the group of 6 small children huddled around the lifeless, bloody body. She gently put her hand on one of the children's shoulder, and saw the child look up at her with large, teary, and fearful eyes.

"Who are you?" The little girl asked, her voice breaking.

"It's ok…I'm a police officer. I'm going to help you." Beckett said quietly, looking around at all of the large eyes that were now all focused on her. She watched as they all flicked up to the doorway. Looking up at the doorway, she saw Castle looking down at all of them with a shocked expression.

"Come on," Beckett said quietly to Castle, "Let's get them out of here."

The two started ushering the small group out of the room and downstairs into the living room. Beckett pulled out her cell phone, and, as to not scare the children more than they already were, sent a quick text to Esposito.

'_**We've got another one. At the Jensen's house.'**_

"I'm Rick, and this is Kate." Castle said to the kids with a gentle voice. Kate watched in awe as he dealt with the traumatized children. He easily got them to announce their ages; the youngest was almost a year, and the oldest 9. They had, apparently, all been playing in the backyard when a stranger went running past them. When they went in to tell their dad, however, they found him dead in his bedroom.

'_**Be there in 15.'**_ Came Esposito's reply a few minutes later. Beckett passed Castle the phone, and he nodded, then went back to comforting the older children. She took the small ones who still didn't seem to understand what was going on to the corner of the room by a pile of toys and got them distracted with them.

The two kept stealing glances at each other dealing with the kids, and, although they didn't know it, the ways that they saw each other dealing with the children had both of them on very similar tracks of mind.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Mmmm yah, I know…mega short chapter. Im sorrryyyy. I just…I dunno…COMPLETELY HATED this chapter…it was just like…was just bad. Soo I had to just end it. I really did picture it going differently bbbuuuttt I dunno…it's just not working. **_

_**Anddd yah I'll try to get out another one as sooon as possible…bbbuuutttt I need motivation! (especially after this chappy….) sooo REVIEW! :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ok…so I feel bad for the last chapter…because like…it was mega short, and there was nothing good in it. Sooo I'm going to try my hardest to get this one done rreeaallllllyy fast and get some good stuffs in there… :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Kate…" Beckett heard Castle's voice calling quietly to her. She hadn't even realized that her eyes had started to tear up as she watched to crying children being taken away by Social Security, until she looked over and saw Castle's large and sympathetic eyes looking back at her. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her back, holding her close. She rested her head on his shoulders and took in a deep and shaky breath, allowing a couple tears to escape her eyes.

"It's not fair." She said, so quietly Castle barely heard it, "Both of their parents, and they're all so young."

"I know…" He murmured, rubbing small circles on her back. He then just held her until he felt her tears subside and her breathing regulate again. Then, he pulled her back a little so he could look at her. "Hey, do you want to come over to my place for dinner tonight? You know, unwind a bit."

"Unwind?" She repeated suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yah, but no funny business, I promise. Besides, my mother will be home tonight…and we don't want a repeat of this morning." He said. Beckett cringed in response.

"Yah…dinner would be nice." Beckett said, giving him a half smile.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Hello, Kate. Joining us for dinner?" Martha greeted when the two entered the loft, "Richard, you should have warned me we were going to have a guest…I just ordered a pizza."

"Don't worry about it, Martha." Kate said with a smile, following Castle into the kitchen area, "Pizza is fine."

"Oh, I see, difficult case?" She said, then, after a moment, she noticed Beckett's confused expression and added, "You really aren't that hard to read, dear. It's written all over your face."

Castle shook his head at his mother, and then gestured to Kate to follow him into his den. As he sat down, the phone on his desk started ringing, and he picked it up and cheerfully answered, "Castle,"

"Hey! Dad, it's me, Alexis!" The voice on the other end spoke.

"Hello Alexis, how's Princeton?" Castle spoke.

"Awesome, but…not why I'm calling," She said, rushing her words, "The professors are trying to get us to get our parents here for the last week we're staying, so they can all see the campus and such…you know, so they can get a feel of what we've been doing for the summer… and how it would be if we came back."

"Hmm, and when exactly would I have to go?" Castle asked, absentmindedly twirling a pen in his fingers.

"Umm, tomorrow?"

"Well, that's a little bit last notice. But, I'm sure I can manage it." Castle said, then looked up at Beckett, "But, I'll have to check with…"

"Kate?" Alexis asked happily, the smile on her face evident in her voice. Kate rolled his eyes and nodded at Castle, who was staring at his with wide and pleading eyes.

"Yes, but it's ok. She approves. So, what's the plan?"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…oo…

"You have to stop being so theatrical about this, it's only a week." Beckett said, rolling her eyes at Castle, who had stopped by her apartment to say goodbye before he left.

"Yes…but do you not remember what happened the last time we were separated for a week? You set up yourself a fake little shadowing at the Hampton precinct so that you had an excuse to stay with me. I'm not sure I even want to find out what you can get yourself into to get yourself a reason to stay in the Princeton campus." Castle said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"For your information, the whole Hampton thing wasn't fake. There was more than the one intention of gaining knowledge on how they run things." She replied with a shrug. "Plus, that was more than a week."

"Well, whatever you say. I must be going." Castle said, overly dramatizing his goodbye, "Until we meet again, Detective."

"One week," Kate said again with a roll of her eyes, "Now, goodbye Rick."

He grinned broadly and pecked her on the cheek, whispering another farewell, and then turning and making his way down the hall. As soon as she was sure he was out of eyesight, she let her guard down, and her smile fell flat as she leaned against the still open doorway. One week.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Hey, Beckett!" She heard Ryan yell from across the room when she walked into the precinct.

"What've you got?" She asked him when she walked over and saw him holding the folder of Mark Taylor.

"You know the guy who had the room the vic was found in?" Esposito said.

"He was married to her, a while back. She divorced him about twenty years ago, due to an abusive relationship." Ryan finished, giving Beckett a knowing look.

"Let's bring him in," Beckett said with a sigh. She had really hoped this case would last longer and be a distraction for the week to come.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"I didn't do anything, I swear," Said the jittery looking man sitting across from Beckett in the interrogation room.

"Didn't do _what_, exactly?" She said back to him with an eyebrow raised.

"I…I don't know. But being called out of work by two cops and taken to a police station to be interrogated is never a good sign." The man's eyes kept flickering about the small bright room.

"Well, you're right to think so." Said Beckett, opening the file in her hands calmly, "Now, tell me, Mr. Taylor, when was the last time you saw your ex wife, Amber Jensen?"

"Amber?" Said the man, the disgust in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Beckett, "I have no clue…we haven't spoken since the divorce."

"Well then can you please explain to me, Mr. Taylor, why she was found _dead_ in _your_ motel room yesterday morning?" Beckett said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He asked angrily, "I didn't stay at no motel room yesterday! And I most certainly didn't kill her!"

"You certainly don't have a very convincing story right now. We already know that you were abusive towards her during your marriage, and it would only be too easy to find motive for her murder."

"I wasn't hardly abusive! She was just a downright wuss! And I wouldn't have never hit her if it weren't for that other man of hers!" He scoffed, "Said she was in love, said she'd marry him someday. But no, when it took her too long, he just went off with another one of his womenfolk."

"Amber had been cheating on you? What was this other man's name?" Beckett pushed.

"Rodger. I don't know the last name. It was always Rodger this, Rodger that. And she thought I wouldn't be able to tell they were more than _friends_. Thought I was that _dumb_."

"Rodger…tell me. Where were you yesterday morning at 2 am?" Beckett asked him.

"Was at home, a sleepin'." He said, glaring at Beckett.

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"Yah, the wife was with me." He scowled.

"Wives don't make very good alibis, Mr. Taylor."

"Well no, but maybe if someone would'a warned me 'bout the murder that was 'bout to take place, I would'a been a place a little more convincin'." He told her.

"Thank you Mr. Taylor." Beckett said, standing up and grabbing the case file, "We'll call you if we have any more questions."

"Please, hesitate to do so." She heard him mumble under his breath.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Dad!" Castle heard his daughter's voice yell out over the sea of students.

"Hey, Alexis!" He exclaimed as she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "How's Princeton, sweety?"

"It's so great here Dad," Alexis said happily, looking up at her dad with bright eyes, "You'll love it, don't worry."

"Good to know…" Castle said, "So, do you think you'd like to go to school here for college?"

"I don't know…I mean, it's absolutely great here and all of the teachers are awesome and everything… but, it just seems like everything is just…overwhelming right now." She said, staring down at the ground intently.

"Well, you've still got a while to decide…not to worry." Castle said happily.

"Yah, I know," Alexis mumbled, then exclaimed suddenly, "Oh! So, when is mom coming? When I talked to her she said that she didn't know the details yet and that she'd call you."

Castle stopped in his tracks and looked at Alexis with wide eyes, "Meredith is coming?"

"Yah…" Alexis said, confused, "Didn't she tell you? She called me two days ago saying that she was going to be here for a week when I got back…and that she'd already called and cleared it with you."

"Uh…no. That she didn't do." Castle said, his stomach sinking when a single thought hit him. What would Kate think?

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Hmm…soo there was some fluff…some case…and some Castle and Alexis stuffs…which is always fun :)**_

_**I still wasn't a huge fan of this chapter though. But, I do have plans for this story…big plans :) aannddd these last few crappy chapters have just been leading up to them, I suppose. But they should start getting better with the next one…I hope.**_

_**OH! And…ok. OMG. So…did any of you see that new Castle promo thingy that was on after the episode last night? I LITERALLY did NOT sleep last night. Omg. O.M.G. gah. I am dead. Please, September 20, please…come faster.**_

_**Anyway…**_

_**Review? Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? :D**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**So…I had no clue how to write this…aanddd so the beginning is a little…bad..ish. But the rest of it is good…I think :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Meredith," Castle sighed into the phone, "When, exactly, were you planning on telling me about the week you were planning on staying at the loft?"

"Why, hello to you too, Rick." She said into the phone with fake happiness. Then, when he didn't speak, she said, "Well, you have never cared before about my visits. In fact, it has always seemed to me like you rather enjoy them…"

"Not unannounced…and, not now. You can't stay at my place." He sighed.

"What? But…Richard, its summer…in New York City. I can't get any semi-acceptable hotel this late of notice."

"Well then maybe you should have thought to make plans a little sooner."

"I couldn't! It's for work, and my boss knows I've got a place to stay there…so, he only just told me." She said, sounding completely desperate, "Please, Rick, I don't have another option right now."

"Meredith…"

"Just…for whatever reason that you can't…just use Alexis as an excuse. I mean, I'm her mom…anybody will believe that."

"Fine," He groaned, "But, we can't…do anything, alright?"

"Of course not, unless, you change your mind…" She purred into the phone.

"Goodbye, Meredith," He said, exhausted with dealing with her.

"Dad?" Alexis asked, "So…is mom going to be staying with us?"

"I suppose so…" Castle sighed.

"What's Detective Beckett going to say?"

"I really don't know, sweety." Castle said, giving his daughter a fake, reassuring smile, "But, your mom is right, it wouldn't be fair for me to just suddenly leave her with nowhere to stay when we've always allowed her to before. And, I'm sure Kate will understand if we just explain it to her."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

This was a very bad case. They were coming up at dead ends everywhere, and Beckett was starting to think that 'Rodger' was just something that Mark Taylor had come up with just for the sake of getting out of the interrogation room faster. Because, no matter where they looked, the team couldn't find any ties between Amber Jensen and anybody named 'Rodger' anywhere. Beckett was just about ready to give up the search and call Mark Taylor back in when her phone rang.

"Beckett,"

"Tell me…when you answer like that, is it just because you don't check the caller ID, or because you just get so speechless at the thought of me that you don't know what else to say?" The cocky writer on the other end of the line said.

"Hello to you too, Castle." Beckett said with a roll of her eyes. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was just calling to let you in on the latest...dilemma…of the Castle household."

"Mm, and what it that?" Beckett asked, watching as she saw Ryan and Esposito rushing hurriedly through the elevator doors towards her.

"Next week, when I come back, Mer-" Castle started, but was interrupted by a sudden commotion on the other end of the line.

"Beckett!" He heard Ryan's voice yell in the background, "We found Rodger!"

"Castle, we just got a lead, I'll call you back," Beckett said.

"No, wait-" Castle tried to say, but Beckett had already shut her phone and was listening intently to Ryan and Esposito's new information.

"We found an old friend of Amber's, Patricia Clark," Esposito said, "She still remembers her so called _obsession_ with him. Apparently Patricia sees him all the time at a local pub. We got a vague description, but she offered to come with us to find him there."

"Awesome…where is she now?" Beckett asked.

"She had to find a babysitter for her kids, but we told her we'd pick her up from her place around noon." Ryan told her, gesturing to the clock. It was twenty to.

"Alright, let's go then." Beckett said, walking past the guys and towards the elevator.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"There, that's him." Patricia informed them as a distressed and confused looking man walked into the small and stuffy building. Beckett nodded once at her in appreciation then got up and strode over to the man who had just sat down on a stool at the bar.

"Are you Rodger Jacobson?" Beckett asked the man, using the last name Patricia had provided them.

"I…I was." The man said, looking at her with wide and fearful eyes.

"What do you mean you _were_?" Beckett questioned.

"I changed my name…I think it was eleven years ago now." The man said.

"I see…well, we have some questions to ask you, about a murder." Beckett told him, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Who…who died?" The man asked.

"We'll explain it all…but if you could first come with us?"

"Course…" The man said, standing up nervously and following the trio out the doors.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Amber?" Rodger croaked when they told them the name of the woman who was killed.

"Yes…you knew her, right?" Beckett said, trying to read his emotions.

"I…well, yes, of course I knew her!"

"Ok, could you please tell me your history with Amber? We want to get some of her history, it may help us find out who killed her."

"Right…" Rodger said cautiously, "Amber and I met in Central Park…must have been 20 some years ago. We were just walking next to each other and were making some friendly small talk. But, we got along so well, so we set up a dinner. Then, before we knew it, we became…very close. I…I knew she was married, but we were falling in love. Everything was moving so fast…and, I was never a man to take long to get over a woman. So, I left her, and just moved on to the next. However, just about a month after I left her, she came back to me and told me she had left her husband. I couldn't just leave my newest girlfriend, though, it wouldn't be right."

"So Amber left, correct?" Beckett asked, then, at his nod, she continued, "And you never saw her again?"

"No, actually, I just saw her recently," Rodger said, "I never forgot her. She was always on my mind. It was driving me mad. I currently had a great and beautiful woman, but she just wasn't Amber…so I left her. I went to find Amber, but…she was happily married. Had kids, had a great life. I couldn't bear to tear that up, so I ran. I've been spending most of my days in that bar you found me in…"

"Alright…and what was the name of the woman you just currently left, to go after Amber for?" Beckett asked.

"Patricia Clark." Rodger said, staring blankly at the table, stating the name as though there was no importance. Beckett looked up at him in surprise, then took a deep breath, thanked him, and walked swiftly out of the room.

"Patricia?" Esposito said as he and Ryan met her as they walked out of the observation room, "That can't be a coincidence…"

"No, it can't…" Beckett agreed.

"If she _was_ our killer," Ryan said, "Why would she help us get what might be the only guy that could tie her to the murder?"

"She may think that we won't suspect her if she's helping," Beckett said.

"Or, she could just stupid." Ryan added with a shrug.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Hello, Rick," Beckett said when she answered the phone. She had been extra careful not to answer with her typical 'Beckett' this time.

"Nice to talk to you again, Kate," He said into the phone, "By the way, you never called me back the other day…"

Beckett felt her stomach pang at the realization, "Oh, shoot! I'm sorry, I totally forgot. It's just this case…it's been pretty hectic. I haven't been able to keep track of anything."

"Nah, its fine," Castle said, "I just need to talk to you…"

"Ahh, does it have to be right now?" Beckett asked, wishing she had more time, "I was just about to start an interrogation…and, you're going to be tomorrow, right? Can we talk then?"

"But, it's kinda…" Castle started, feeling a little desperate.

"I'm really sorry…see you tomorrow?" Beckett said.

"Yah, until tomorrow." Castle sighed.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Patricia Clark, is it true that you were romantically involved with Mr. Rodger Jacobson?" Beckett asked, pacing back and forth the interrogation room. She had been waiting too long to question Patricia, and she was antsy and ready for the case to be over so that she could just go home and sleep.

"Where did you hear that?" Patricia gulped. Beckett had to suppress an eye roll; this girl wasn't very good at playing innocent.

"From Rodger himself." She stated.

"Well, yah, we were…involved. But it ended." Patricia said nervously, "I don't see why it is so relevant to her murder."

"Because, Ms. Clark, Rodger told us the whole story. How he wasn't in love with you, but Amber, and how he left you, for her." Beckett said. She saw pain flash through Patricia's eyes and knew she was getting close, "That hurt didn't it? Amber was your friend, and you blamed her for stealing your man, didn't you? Even if it wasn't her fault. You knew that none of your relationship with Rodger was real, and it was all her fault, so you wanted to get back at her."

"No," Patricia squeaked out, her voice much too nervous to be good for her, "I didn't kill Amber. Sure, I didn't like it that Rodger chose her…but I would never kill her. And what about her husband? That wouldn't make sense for me to kill him too."

"Sure it would, Beckett said, looking her in the eyes, "It was a crime of passion. Amber stole your man, so you were going to steal hers…even if she wouldn't be there to have him anymore. It makes perfect sense."

"It doesn't make perfect sense! Why would I kill them? It would…wouldn't make any sense!" She stuttered.

"Of course it does." Beckett told her, "You knew Rodger would never get over her…not when there was any sort of chance for him. But, if she were to be dead, he would know he'd never get her, and he may finally be able to move on…go back to you…"

"It wasn't fair! She didn't even want him!" Patricia yelled, shaking her head as her eyes started to fill with tears.

"But he wanted her, and that's why you had to eliminate that option for him."

Tears started pouring from Patricia's eyes at both the memories that the Detective brought up, and the fact that she realized that she had been caught.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Words couldn't describe how glad Kate was that the case was over with. She dropped her bag on the chair of her apartment and she walked over to the kitchen to grab some leftovers from the Styrofoam temple in her refrigerator. She put it in the microwave to warm, and then walked over to the calendar on the wall, where she'd be able to confirm the fact that Castle would be home the next day, and would be able to cure her loneliness.

Her eyes froze and her stomach started doing little flip-flops when she saw that days date. Her face paled and she tried to run through any explanations in her head…none of them likely. She walked on numb legs into the living room where she collapsed on a large armchair and stared blankly at the floor, not even registering the beeping microwave in the kitchen. The only thought on her mind at that moment was, What was she going to do?

She was a week late.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**OH SNAP! Ahahahahahahahahaha…ahaha. Lol, I've been waiting to write that line this whole chapter! :D**_

_**Ok…so, I actually kind of liked this chapter…I know there wasn't a horribly large amount of Caskett…just a lot of case…but I dunno, I had to get it out there somewhere :) Aaannddd like with all of like…Kate blowing off Castle's calls…I really didn't like that…and like, yahhh but I had to do it to make it work with whats happening in the next chapter :) Aannddd as for next chapter, there will be a LOT more Castle/Beckett stuffs aaannnddd Amanda's coming back! Woo! :)**_

_**Alrighty…had to get that all out there. And nowww, I'm off! :)**_

_**Review! :D**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello all! Good news! This is like…the first chapter in quite a while that I've actually had a legit plan for… :D Sooo…I'm hoping it'll be good :)**_

_**Annnddd also, I had a dream last night that I was having a water gun fight with Nathan Fillion and Barack Obama….just thought you all should know :)**_

_**Castlesnotmine! :D**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Pick up, pick up, pick up…" Beckett muttered into the phone as she listened to the shrill ring sound over and over. Eventually, she heard Lanie's recorded voice informing her to leave a message after the beep. She shut the phone before it had the chance to go to a message. She groaned and stared at the phone, really needing somebody to talk to.

Then, she had a sudden burst of realization of who else she could call. She glanced at the clock; 11:23, surely that wasn't too late.

"Hello?" The bright and cheery voice answered.

"Amanda?" Beckett spoke quietly into the phone, "It's me, Kate."

"Hey, Kate!" Amanda said happily, "Wait…is something wrong? You sound…distressed…"

"No, nothing wrong…I'm just," Beckett bit her lip, "Are you busy right now? I really need somebody to talk to…and I'd rather it not be over the phone…"

"Oh yah, I'm free…but, wait…is this about Castle?"

"It…sort of is…" Beckett said.

"Alright…well then, where do you live?" Amanda said, jumping out of the chair she had been sitting in and scurrying around the room to grab her purse and jacket.

"What? No, you don't have to come here…I was-"

"No," Amanda interrupted, shaking her head, "If it's about Castle, we have to be near him…so that when we fix it, you can get back to him sooner."

"But its…"

"No buts," Amanda said quickly, "Now, where do you live?"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Wait…so you two have been together for over week already and you're only telling me now?" Amanda said to Kate with an incredulous expression.

"Yah…" She said cautiously.

Amanda sighed, "And you two have already done something to mess it up?"

"No, that's not it at all." Beckett said quickly, "We're still perfectly happy. It's just that…there's a different problem." She reached behind her and pulled out the small item that she had been hiding behind her and handed it to Amanda. She watched as her eyes widened at the sight, and then their eyes met again-one fearful and the other full of shock.

"You're pregnant?" Amanda asked her, her voice masked of all emotions. Then, when Kate nodded slowly, a large grin spread over Amanda's face and she pulled her in for a hug. "Oh honey, it's alright, you'll make a great mom!"

"That's not what I'm worried about…" Kate said with a shaky voice, "I…I mean, it's only been just over a week. I don't want to be that person…the one who gets themselves pregnant within the first week of the relationship…before they know if it'll work or not…and…what if he doesn't want another child?"

"Kate," Amanda said gently, "I don't know Castle, but I do know you…and I highly doubt you would fall for somebody that is that selfish that they would run just because a kid was thrown into the picture. You trust him, don't you?"

"Yah, of course I do, but…" Kate started.

"Ok, well then you just need to tell him, and go from there." Amanda told her.

"I can't…he's gone until tomorrow at a college program with Alexis." She said, then at Amanda's confused look said, "Alexis is his daughter."

"Aw, see, he's already got a daughter! You guys will make awesome parents." Amanda said with a smile, "And tomorrow, as soon as he's home, you're going to go tell him, and he's going to be thrilled, and everything is going to be ok. Ok?"

"Ok…" Kate sighed.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"_Hello Honey," Rick said as he walked in the front door of the loft. He walked up to Kate and planted a sweet kiss on her forehead, then leaned back and looked at her, "How's the baby today?"_

_She placed a hand on her engorged stomach and smiled, "Great. He's been kicking nonstop."_

"_That's good," He said, then looked over his shoulder as though he were expecting something._

"_What are you looking for?" Kate asked him curiously._

"_Well I couldn't tell you, could I?" Rick told her smiling, "Then it wouldn't be a surprise!"_

_Kate narrowed her eyes at him; he knew she didn't like surprises. However, just in that moment, the door burst open and a happily grinning redhead stepped in._

"_Dad, Kate!" Alexis said cheerfully, practically skipping across the room and giving them both hugs. _

"_Alexis?" Kate asked, extremely happy, yet shocked to see the girl back home from Princeton, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Well," Alexis said, drawing out the word, "I knew your due date was this weekend, and we've got a long weekend before classes start again, so I figured I'd come visit. And, maybe, if I'm lucky, get to meet the baby!"_

_Rick looked over at Kate happily, and saw that she was staring wide eyed down at the ground, and she was bracing herself on the arm of the sofa next to her._

"_Kate, are you ok?" He asked, worried._

_She looked up at him with wide eyes, and then gave him a worried half smile, "I think my water just broke."_

"Oh Katee," A sing songy voice said, interrupting Beckett's dream. "It's time to go see Castle."

Beckett groaned and sat up in bed, slowly opening her eyes and saw Amanda buzzing around the room, opening the curtains.

"So, what time does he get back from his trip?" She asked her happily.

"Noon." Kate croaked, still half asleep.

"Awesome…its 10:15 now, so if you get up and get ready now, you should be able to get over there in time to meet him."

"It's 10:15?" Kate asked, her eyes flying open as she looked around for her alarm clock. "I _never_ sleep that late!"

Amanda shrugged, and Kate jumped out of bed, and started her morning routine. She showered, got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and, before she knew it, it was 11:30.

"Have fun," Amanda said happily, smiling widely at Kate.

"I doubt that will happen…" She said back. Her stomach was doing flip flops, and all of the worst case scenarios kept running through her head. She tried pushing them out of her mind, and tried to convince herself that everything was going to be ok, but the whole drive over to his loft, she just kept getting more and more jittery.

She didn't like feeling this nervous. It felt all wrong, and she felt weak. But, she could help how her legs seemed to grow more and more numb and she approached his door.

However, when she had been expecting to have to knock, she found the door already cracked open slightly. She knocked once or twice on the open door as she was walking in, and saw a small pile of bags sitting just past the entrance. Alexis', she figured. There seemed to be no other sign of life in the apartment, however.

She then heard footsteps coming from above her, then the running of a shower. She walked up the staircase and found that the running water was coming from Castle's bedroom. Taking a deep breath, she decided that she would just wait for him in his bedroom. So, she silently cracked open the door, and was about to step inside when she felt her stomach drop, and her breath catch in her throat.

The first thing Kate registered were the clothes strewn across the floor of the room, making a trail leading to bed. In the bed, was a woman. The bed sheet loosely covered her lower half, and her naked back was partially covered by the wild red hair that was unmistakably Meredith.

Kate felt stinging tear suddenly fill her eyes as she glanced back once more at the closed bathroom door. She took a deep and shaky breath before turning swiftly and half running back down the stairs and out of the apartment.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ouch. :(**_

_**Weellll, first things first…I, have never been pregnant. So, I do not know any pregnancy details. And, I already hardly have time to update this story as much as I would like to, so I won't be researching all the little bits and ends. So, yes, there probably will be things I get wrong…and I'm sorry, but please don't yell at me for it :)**_

_**Thenn, I feel like Beckett is being like kinda…out of character… :/ then again…we've never seen this side of her on the show, so there's no way to tell if she is in character or not… hmmm…sooo yah, sorry if I'm doing it bad…if you have any suggestions, please let me know :D**_

_**And now…I am done talking (…writing?) :) **_

_**Pretty please Review?**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Oh my goodness. :) I love you all…just thought you should know :D**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle and Alexis got home at about 1:30 that day. They had been planning on being home around noon, but a small pizza joint on a side road that they saw while driving had been calling to them, so they had decided to stop for lunch. So far, it had been a very good day.

However, when they walked through the front door of the apartment, Castle felt his mood drop. The bags thrown messily in a pile could only mean one thing; Meredith was here already.

"Mom!" Alexis yelled out, then ran across the room to hug her mother who had just come down the stairs in a robe.

"Hello Alexis," She said happily, then looked up to Castle, "Rick,"

"Nice to see you again, Meredith." Castle said, "I see you spent the night?"

"Yes," Meredith said quietly, then looked at Castle with somewhat apologetic eyes, "Actually, about that…"

"Hey, Mer, where did you say those extra clothes were?" A deep voice came from the top of the stairs. A moment later, an unfamiliar man wearing only a pair of boxers walked down the stairs. He froze about halfway down, taking in the crowded room with wide and surprised eyes, "Uh…Meredith, who're they?"

"My ex, and his daughter." She said with a sigh, "They stay with me here every once and a while."

Castle shot her an unbelieving look, then sighed and said, "Right…Meredith, can I talk to you in to other room, please?"

Meredith gave the strange man an apologetic look, and when he receded back up the stairs, she followed Castle into his den with a worried look.

"Listen, before you yell…I just want to say, I only did it because I was trying to abide by your rules." Meredith explained to him quickly, "You told me that we couldn't do anything, so I figured I'd just get it all out of my system before you were even back."

"So you just thought it'd be better to bring a guy back to my place without me knowing, and tell him it was yours?" Castle asked her.

"Well, you certainly never prohibited it. And you should be happy I did it the way I did," Meredith told him, "You know me, Rick, it could have turned out a lot worse."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Beckett didn't want to allow herself to cry. Not until she got home, that is. She jumped into her car and sped off, not able to hold back the sudden release of tears. The shrill ringing of her phone made her groan; she really didn't want to talk to anybody right now.

"Beckett." She answered, doing her best to stabalize her voice.

"Hey, we've got a murder," Esposito's voice informed her, "946 Greene Ave."

"Be right there." Beckett said, hanging up before he had a chance to say anything else.

As she drove, she took deep breaths, trying to quickly compose herself before she got to the scene. She tried to convince herself that a murder would be good for her. It would give her a distraction from everything else.

"Where's the body?" She asked Ryan and Esposito when crossed under the yellow tape.

"Over there, Lanie's examening it now." Ryan told her.

"Where's your shadow?" Esposito asked with a smirk.

"He's busy." She stated blatently, walking away from the two before she saw the confused glances they shot at each other.

"What've we got, Lanie?" Beckett asked her friend, kneeling down beside her and the seemingly bloodless body.

She felt her friends eyes on her and after a moment of no response, looked up to see Lanie's wide and worried eyes staring at her.

"Whoa, girl, what's wrong with you?" Lanie asked her in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't even start with me, girl. That voice, your face…your eyes are still puffy. What's up?"

"Nothing I can deal with right now." Beckett said dryly, then gestured down at the body.

Lanie sighed, "John Doe. Multiple stab wounds to the back, but whoever our murderer is moved the body and changed his shirt, so you wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong."

"Alright, anything else?"

"Not right now…I'll have more for you when I get him back to the lab." Lanie said, then, as Beckett started to stand up, Lanie asked her quickly, "You look pretty messed up…you sure you're ok to do this case?"

"No, not really." Beckett said with a sigh, then walked away, leaving an extremely worried Lanie behind her.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle paced back and forth in the loft, muttering into the phone he was holding. A sudden groan elicited from him alerted Alexis, who was making her lunch on the other side of the room.

"Something wrong?" She asked him.

"Not really," Castle said with a half smile as he walked over by his daughter, "Beckett's just not answering her phone."

"Well, she's probably just busy. I wouldn't worry about it." Alexis said with a smile, then retreated up the stairs to her bedroom with the sandwich she had just made.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Please, Beckett, you're killing us." Esposito said as he and Ryan walked over to the aggravated detective sitting at her desk, "Who are you so set on avoiding that you still haven't answered after, what has it been now…"

"I think that last one was the eleventh call," Ryan told his partner, then they both looked at Beckett expectantly.

"None of your business," Beckett stated, standing up and walking past them and into the break room with her coffee cup.

"20 Bucks says it's a Castle problem," Esposito said as soon as she was out of earshot.

"Nahh, no way man, Castle's the only one desperate enough to call her that many times. Something's definitely up with him." Ryan told him back.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Lanie, what are you doing here?" Beckett asked her friend when she appeared at the end of her desk at around dinner time.

"I'm picking you up." Lanie told her simply, "Don't worry; I've already cleared it with Montgomery. He thinks that it's about time you took a night off. So, you and I are going on a much needed girls night out."

"Lanie, I'm in the middle of a case, I can't just-"

"No, you're going out tonight, you're going to have fun, and you're going to tell me about whatever is going on with writer boy." Lanie interrupted her, "No buts."

Beckett groaned, "Where are we going?"

"Remy's." Lanie stated, "We are going to go pig out on burgers and shakes, then go back to my place with a gallon of ice cream and a bottle or two of wine."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Knock Knock Knock_

Castle stood outside the door of Beckett's apartment, tapping his foot impatiently, hoping with all his might that she would answer the door.

He just couldn't figure it out. Why was she avoiding him? The last time they had talked she had been too busy for him to tell her anything about Meredith, but she hadn't seemed angry.

And now she wasn't answering her door.

He ran down the stairs two at a time, hopping into his car and going to check the precinct.

He felt his stomach drop when he walked through the elevator doors into the homicide department. A fully assembled murder board had been created, just recently, by the looks of it. He knew that he must have done something pretty bad for her not to call him in for a new murder. He just couldn't figure what he had done!

"Hey, Castle," Espostio called out. Castle spun around and saw the partners walking out of the break room, coffees in hand.

"Hey, do you guys know where Beckett is?" Castle asked them, internally cringing at how desperate he sounded.

"Yep," Ryan told him.

"She and Lanie went out for a girls night out." Esposito explained, "But listen, I would give her some space, man."

"Yah," Ryan budded in, "I don't know what you did, but she was one majorly agitated detective today. I didn't even like dealing with her, and I'm not the one who did anything."

"But I didn't _do_ anything!" Castle said, exasperated. Ryan and Esposito shrugged, then both turned and made their ways back to their desks.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"You're _pregnant_?" Lanie repeated with huge eyes, filled with shock. Beckett just nodded miserably in reply, popping another spoonful of chocolate ice cream in her mouth. "Ok…and, Castle was mad about it?" She continued, trying to guess why her friend was so annoyed with the writer.

"No, he doesn't even know yet…" Beckett told her.

"Why haven't you told him?" Lanie questioned, "And why are you avoiding him?"

"Because," She sighed, "I tried to tell him. I went to his place, and the door was cracked open, so I just went in. Then, nobody was around, and I heard footsteps from his bedroom, so I went up there and…"

"And…" Lanie prodded..

"He had just gotten into the shower…and _Meredith_ was in his bed."

"Meredith the ex wife Meredith?" Lanie asked with wide eyes. Beckett nodded, and Lanie crawled over to her and wrapped her up in a hug, "Oh honey, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. He would never do that to you."

"How would _that_ be a misunderstanding? It was in _his_ bedroom, Lanie." Beckett said, blinking back the few tears that threatened to spill over, "And he hasn't kept the fact that the two of them have…_relations_ a secret."

Lanie didn't know what to say at this point, she just pulled her friend in for another hug.

"What am I going to do?" Beckett asked, subconsciously placing her hand on her stomach.

"Well, first things first…he is going to have to find out eventually." Lanie told her, sending a knowing look, "Unless…you are planning on keeping it, right?"

Kate sighed, "How can I not, Lanie?"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Castle went back to his loft, miserably trying to come up with reasons that Kate would be so mad. He was starting to think that he wouldn't be able to figure it out on his own, when he walked through his front door and saw a small white item laying on the floor just under the couch closest to the doorway.

A pregnancy test. Positive.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Weellllll…ok then. What a screwy day. **_

_**Anywayy…I have to leave…and want to post this before I go, sooo not really a good message thingy today!**_

_**Review review review!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Haha oh my goodness…I'm actually really surprised the last chapter got posted correctly… :) This morning all in like…5 minutes I had to wrap up the chapter, save it, and get it all posted and stuff before my family literally dragged me out of the house :) Goodness Gracious.**_

_**Anyway…..**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Meredith…I have a question to ask you," Castle said as he approached his ex wife cautiously, "Are you pregnant?"

Meredith opened her mouth in horror and scoffed, "No I most certainly am NOT Richard!" She looked down at herself and sucked in her stomach self consciously, walking away muttering, "Yeesh, the _crap_ women get for eating a decent sized meal these days."

Castle sighed, then looked around the room until his eyes fell upon his mother, who was leaning against the kitchen counter and had been watching the two's conversation with amusement.

"Mother…?" He asked, implying the same question.

"Why of course it isn't mine, Richard. At this age, it's a physical impossibility." Martha told him.

Castle groaned, "Yes, I know, but…the only other one in the house is…Alexis."

"I think you're missing one other very obvious candidate," Martha told her son, sending him a knowing look.

"What, you mean Beckett?" He asked, then at her nod, said, "It can't be her, she hasn't been here since last week…and that would have been too soon to have been her."

"Well then you're on your own, kiddo." She said, standing up and making her way over to the staircase, "Don't be too hard on Alexis, though. She's a smart girl, I doubt it's hers."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

The alarm on Beckett's phone awoke her dazed and confused on the floor of an unfamiliar apartment. It took her a moment or two for her to remember that she had spent the night at Lanie's, and had fallen asleep on her floor.

She quickly quieted her beeping phone, then got up, dressed in the change of clothes she had brought with, and crept out to door of the apartment, careful not to awake her sleeping friend.

She was set on being at work nice and early today, to make up for skipping out last evening. Sure, Montgomery had happily granted her the break, but she didn't like feeling like she was slacking in her job. She'd rather be on top of things.

However, her plans to start right away on looking into information on the case were splattered as soon as she saw the familiar cup of coffee and bear claw sitting on her desk. She felt her stomach pang, and closed her eyes, awaiting the onslaught.

"Kate!" She heard him yell out, "You're here early. I was expecting on having to wait a while."

She slowly reopened her eyes and was met with the happily smiling face that usually made her heart melt. But, today, it only brought up pain and anger.

"What, Castle," She snapped bitterly, seeing him slightly cringe at her tone of voice.

"Ok, I know you're mad…but would you please explain to me why?" He asked desperately, "I've been wracking me brain for over 24 hours as to what I could have done wrong…but I can't figure it out."

She felt her anger start to rise. He was _really_ going to try and pull the innocence act? She just took a deep breath to try to calm herself and walked past him towards the murder board.

"Please, Kate? I'll apologize for whatever it is I did…but just please tell me what it is first…"

More silence.

He was getting extremely frustrated. What on earth had he done to earn this level of the silent treatment? He decided to just drop it for now, and just try to get her talking.

"Well, if you won't tell me, would you please help me with another problem of mine that I'm having? He said, just getting the response of more silence, "You see, yesterday, I came across a pregnancy test…a positive one."

Beckett's head popped up against her own will, and she felt her heart stop for a moment, then start racing at full speed. She ran through her mind what all happened the day she had gone over to his apartment, and she felt her stomach clench when she remembered how she had ran out. It must have fallen out of her purse.

"I've already asked all of the women of the household…except Alexis." He said, "I don't know what I'm going to do. She's always been so smart…but now…"

"Are you sure it's hers?" Beckett asked in a strained, quiet voice. Castle was glad he was getting her talking again.

"Well, who else's would it be?" He said back.

She let out a deep breath she hadn't even realized that she had been holding. She couldn't let Alexis get blamed for it, just because she was just too afraid to talk.

"My mother said I should ask you, but, I told her that wouldn't be possible, because…" He was cut short when Beckett looked up at him with large, worried, and still somewhat angry, eyes. "Oh God…was it yours?"

She looked forward again, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

"I saw you and Meredith the day you were coming home." She said, trying to keep her anger down, "I came over around noon so that I could…tell you…and the door was open, so I just came in…and, I saw you…"

"You…noon?" Castle asked, trying to remember all the event of that day, "But I wasn't even home at noon. You must have…Oh God…"

Beckett looked back up at him, seeing him staring forward with a horrified expression.

"Meredith…" He groaned, then looked back at her as he explained, "That _wasn't_ me. Meredith, apparently, takes using my place as housing for granted, and had a work trip all set up before she even asked if she could stay. I wasn't going to let her, but it wouldn't be fair…we've always let her in the past. _That's_ what I was trying to tell you when I kept calling you when we were gone. Then, when Alexis and I got back, we found that Meredith had brought a guy back with her…don't worry, she won't be doing that again."

"Oh…" Beckett said quietly, feeling somewhat idiotic, "Sorry I've been ignoring your calls…"

"Not a problem," He said with a smile, "If I had thought I saw what you thought you did, I probably wouldn't be so keen on talking to you either."

They sat in silence for a few moments, until Castle reached into his pocket and pulled out the small white test. Beckett looked over at it and sighed, grabbing it and setting it behind her on the desk. When it was out of the way, Castle reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Are you going to keep it?" He asked her quietly. She just nodded in response. "You'll make a wonderful mother."

She looked up at him, "And you've already proved to be an awesome dad."

Just then, the elevator dung, and the two turned around to see Ryan and Esposito strolling into the precinct with wide grins.

"Aww, would you look at that. They're happy again!" Ryan said with a smirk.

Beckett rolled her eyes, but as soon as the two were out of earshot, she pulled Castle in close and whispered to him, "They can't know…"

"About this, I'm assuming?" Castle asked, playfully poking her stomach.

She grabbed his finger and twisted it painfully, emphasizing her point.

"Ouch, ouch, Apples!" He yelled out.

"Yes, _that_." She said, then looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, "Alright, _sweetheart_?"

Castle gave her a half smile, then said with a grumpy face, "Yes, pumpkin."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Oh my, two chapters in a day! I'm proud of myself :D Granted…this one isnt horribly long…but ya know, whatever. :)**_

_**Hmm…next chapter is going to be a little bit of a jump…just to warn ya all :)**_

_**So…yah. :D**_

_**Ohh…and ok, so I'm honestly just curious how many people are actually reading this…soooo I have a task for you all…anybody who's been reading this, please just leave a review…it doesn't have to be long… (although those are awesome…) But I just want to know :D**_

_**:)**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**:) Smiley…I'm feeling very smiley right now… :)  
I love you ALLLLLLL so very much. I really do :) **_

_**Ok…so the next few chapters are going to be separated by months…like…every chapter will be 1 or 2 months… :) Aaannndddd I'm actually doing some researchy stuffs so I get it all semi correct (goodness, you don't know how worried I was that my mom would walk in on me searching "what to expect in the first month of pregnancy") But yah…**_

_**I'm just going to count the last chapter as month one…because nothing really exciting happens then…so I thought I'd just skip it… :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo….

_Month 2_

"You can't come." Kate told Rick firmly.

"Come on," He half whined, "It's our baby. You shouldn't be the only one allowed to see it."

"I know, but just…don't go to this one." She told him, "Nobody knows except for you, your family, Lanie and Amanda…can you imagine how mad everyone would be if it got leaked to the press and they had to find out by a magazine article?"

"I know, but…" He started, but was cut off by her stern look, "Fine…but don't expect for me to be that father who is never there for all of the-"

He got cut off by Kate's lips on his, giving him a quick kiss to silence him.

"I know," She stated quickly, then took a step back, grabbed her purse, and slipped out the door of the loft.

She wouldn't deny that she was nervous. The whole ride to the office that she was having the appointment down at, she couldn't stop her fingers from tapping impatiently on the steering wheel, and her eyes were constantly flickering to the clock in the middle of the car.

"Hello, dear," The elderly receptionist greeted her when she walked through the double doors of the office.

"Hey," She said absentmindedly, looking around the small waiting room as she walked up to the desk.

"Name?" The woman asked her cheerfully.

"Kate Beckett," She told her.

"Alright, I'll let the doctor know you're here. She should be out in just a moment." The woman told her with a smile.

Kate walked away from the desk slowly, lowering herself into one of the cushioned chairs.

"Miss Beckett?" A woman called from a newly opened door a minute or two later.

"It's Detective Beckett." A voice called from the entrance to the office just as Kate was standing up. She turned to see who had spoken, and felt her stomach drop.

"What're you doing here, Castle?" She asked him as he walked across the room so he was next to her.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm here to see my daughter or son." He told her with a smirk, "What are you doing here, Detective?"

"Funny," She told him, "I thought you were going to stay home…"

"Oh come on, Kate," He said, more serious this time, "As long as we don't walk in together, we'll be fine. I doubt anybody here will give away our secret." He looked around the room, at the waiting doctor, smiling receptionist, and extremely pregnant woman who seemed to be oblivious to their whole conversation.

Kate rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way to the doctor and through the door she held open for her and Castle.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Twins?" Rick repeated the doctor's words incredulously, and then looked at Beckett who was frozen staring at the small screen.

"It seems so," The doctor said, pointing at the two small gray blobs on the screen, "Of course, it's too early to know for sure…and something could always go wrong, but as of now, I'd plan for two."

Beckett blinked a few times, urging away the tears. Not here, not now…why did she even have the urge to cry?

"Kate?" Rick asked her cautiously. She turned her head slowly away from the screen, looking him in the eyes. He was extremely relieved to see the smile growing on her face, having been worried that she'd take the news badly.

"I'll give you two a moment…" The doctor said, standing up and leaving the room silently.

"Twins…" Kate breathed, looking forward again, feeling her eyes fill with tears again.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 3_

Beckett motioned to Ryan and Esposito to cover her, just as she kicked the door of an apartment open. Her vest was getting uncomfortably tight, but, thankfully, she had been able to hide her growing baby bump from the precinct so far. Castle was getting nervous about letting her out on the field, but she had been able to convince him that she would be fine day after day so far.

"John Roberts, put your hands up!" She yelled out when she came into view of the familiar man in the bedroom she had just entered. His head jolted up, and, as soon as he saw the group of armed detectives aiming their guns at him, he snatched a pistol off the table next to him and grabbed hold of the woman next to him and held the gun to her head.

"Drop your weapons or I'll kill her!" The man threatened, pushing the gun into the woman's head roughly.

"John! What are you doing?" The woman yelled out, her voice full of fear.

"Put the gun down, John." Beckett said sternly. Her voice wavered a little slightly as she felt a sudden onslaught of nausea. Her arms fell slightly, but she shook her head a little to herself and straightened them again, trying to push away the sudden urge to be sick.

"Beckett, you ok?" Esposito asked her quickly, noticing her problems.

"Fine." She stated, closing her mouth quickly and gagging into her mouth.

The man holding the gun in the middle of the room quickly took advantage of the situation, and swung his gun out at Ryan and sent out a series of shots. The room was suddenly full of bangs and shouts. Then, as soon as it started, it stopped. A motionless John Roberts on the ground, and the woman he had been holding hostage clutching a profusely bleeding arm. Behind Beckett, Ryan sat on the ground coughing and rubbing his chest over his vest.

"Beckett, you check on them, I've got to held Ryan," Esposito told her. She took a deep breath and nodded, still trying to will away the nausea.

She walked over to their shooter first, kicking the gun away from his hand and kneeling beside him and checking his pulse. It was still thumping quite steadily.

"Hey, Espo, he's still-" Beckett started, but quickly looked away as she lost control of her stomach and threw up all the remains of the food she had eaten that day.

"Beckett, watch out!" She vaguely heard Ryan yell out over the sound of her own coughing.

She spun around when she felt her gun snatched from where it had been safely placed in its holster on her hip, and saw their 'dead' shooter holding it and standing up, aiming it at Beckett's head.

A single shot rang out, and Beckett cringed, having expected the next shot in the room to go through her own head, not John Roberts chest. She looked over a Esposito who had his gun still pointing where Roberts had previously been standing.

"Beckett, what the heck just happened?"Esposito asked harshly, walking over and confirming that the guy was finally dead.

"I, I don't know…" She said, still feeling weak and somewhat sick, "I got sick."

"Yah, we can tell," Ryan said from across the room with a smile, "You ok now?"

"Yah, I think so," She said, standing back up on shaky legs, "You're the one who got shot…are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine," He said, grinning, "Bullet hit the vest, not me."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Beckett, in my office." Montgomery's voice rang through the bullpen.

She stood up slowly, giving a knowing look to Castle, who was still somewhat frantic after hearing about the close incident.

"_Why_ are you still here?" Montgomery asked her when after she walked into his office and closed the door, "I heard about your incident. You should be at home, getting yourself better. Not here where you're not doing yourself, nor any of us, any good."

"Trust me, Sir, being at home isn't going to help me right now," She said with a sigh, "And its nothing contagious, I promise."

"How would you know? From what I heard, it hit you suddenly. You can't know if it's something bad until you get yourself checked out."

"Actually I can." She slumped her shoulders and sat down on the chair in front of his desk, "It was only morning sickness…in the afternoon."

"Morning sickness?" The captain repeated with a shocked expression, "You're pregnant?"

Beckett nodded.

"Well, that's great!" He said happily, "When's the baby due?"

"The _babies_," She told him, watching as his expression changed at the usage of the plural noun, "are due April 4th."

"April fourth…wait," He did a quick calculation in his head, "That would mean you're already 3 months along."

She nodded again.

"Beckett, what were you thinking? Still going out on the field, my goodness. And when were you planning on telling everybody?"

"Well, now that you know…I'm guessing very soon." She said with a sigh, "But, if you wouldn't mind, don't say anything about it to anyone just yet. I'm sure Castle will want to be there too…"

"Of course not. Just, go home and get some rest." He told her, then when she nodded and stood up, walking over to the door, added, "And Beckett,"

"Yes, Sir?" She asked, turning around, already halfway out the open door.

"Your limited to desk work for the next 6 months…at least."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

As soon as Beckett and Castle disappeared on the other side of the elevator doors, both Ryan and Esposito rose from their spots in front of their desks and walked to the break room together.

"Desk duty…for _six months_?" Ryan said, looking at Esposito.

"I know, dude. Do you really think he was that mad at her for messing up today? I mean, she got sick…it's not like it's her fault." He said back.

"Nah, that can't be it. And, even if the captain were to punish her, it wouldn't be for six months…that's huge."

"Then what on earth could she have done that would earn her desk duty for that long?" Esposito asked, earning a shrug from Ryan. He walked across the room and went into the freezer to grab cookie out of the container of them he had stashed.

"What're all those?" Ryan asked, coming back behind him and pointing to the hoard of red popsicles piled in the corner of the freezer, "I've never seen them there before."

"Nah, Castle put a bunch of them in there a few weeks ago," Esposito told him, "Beckett's been eating them nonstop since then."

"Dude. We are _so_ dumb." Ryan said suddenly, giving Esposito an exasperated look. Esposito started back at his partner, confused, for a moment, until a light bulb flickered over his head and he put the pieces together. "We're detectives, for Christ's sake…how did it take us this long?"

"The addiction to cherry popsicles," Esposito said.

"The sudden sickness today," Ryan added.

"The _desk duty_…"

"And, she has been wearing lots of loose clothing lately, hasn't she?"

"Dang, we are idiots." Esposito said.

Ryan nodded, "Well, Beckett is in for it tomorrow…"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Hmm, long chapter :)**_

_**Soo…I actually really kinda liked this chapter…haha :) Just saying…**_

_**There really just isn't much to say right now… :/**_

_**Review? :)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Haha, so…I feel bad for Beckett. Looking up all this stuff that happens when you're having a baby and stuff…yeesh, pregnancy doesn't sound fun…at. All.**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 4_

"Yellow?" Kate asked him as they browsed through paint colors.

"Maybe…but yellow almost screams '_I didn't know the gender'_," Rick said.

"Is that such a bad thing? As of now, we _don't_ know the gender…" She said back.

"True…" He stared at the yellow paint sample again, "Well…maybe we should just hold off on painting until we do know. I mean, we wouldn't want the baby mad at us for painting their room before we even knew what they were.

Kate rolled her eyes at him, but agreed. As they were walking out, he reached for her hand, but she neatly dodged it, sending him a warning look.

"Castle, you already know I don't like going out in public together…most people don't even know yet."

"I know," He sighed, giving her a puppy dog face, "But, come on…we're in a low populated part of town… the only people that will see us are the residents who would most likely not even care."

She groaned, but couldn't disagree with him. The odds of anybody around here having a camera with them was very low…and odds of them actually using the camera to take a picture to send to any magazines was even lower.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Dude, look…" A gangly looking teenager on vacation punched his friend in the arm to get his attention.

"Wait…that's that author, isn't it?" His friend asked, watching as the celebrity walked out of the hardware store.

"Yah, Richard Castle, the magazines have been all over his and his muses relationship lately." His friend told him, "I wouldn't know, but my sister is all over it and keeps blabbering about it."

His friend rolled his eyes, "So what's the point?"

"The point, is that the two of them had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. And, now…that chick is knocked up. Think about how much money we could get if we sold a picture of them to the press?"

His friends eyes widened, and he shot his hand into his pocket to grab his camera phone. He steadied it at the couple, then snapped a quick photo, shutting his phone quickly and stuffing it back into his pocket.

"We're flying back first class," His friend said, grinning happily.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Crap," Beckett muttered. She was stopped at a red light on her way to work, and right next to her was a magazine booth, and right in the middle was a bug picture of her, very obviously pregnant, and a smiling Castle, holding hands.

She pulled her phone out and quickly dialed Castle's number.

"Hello," the cheery voice answered.

"Have you _seen_ the magazine stands this morning, Mr. Nobody-will-take-a-picture?" She asked him.

"…Really?" He groaned into the phone, "Dang it! Where do these people _come_ from?"

She sighed, reminding herself that it was just as much her fault as it was his.

"Well…would you like to know some good news?" He asked, his voice happier than it had been.

"Sure," She sighed, ever impressed at how easily he changed subjects.

"They just confirmed the name for the new Nikki Heat book; OverHeat."

"OverHeat…" She repeated, "And when is this one set to be published?"

"As of now, next March," He said, "But, hey, you know how well I meet those publication dates.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"So, did you two want to know the genders?" The doctor asked Kate and Rick as they sat in the dark room, staring at the ultrasound screen. Rick looked down at Kate, and she nodded her head, still staring at the screen.

"They're both girls, identical girls." The doctor told them, then proceeded to point out certain things on the screen.

"So, now that we know the gender," Castle said as they walked out of the office, "What do you say we go shopping?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, never having seen a man so excited to shop, but she complied.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

The living room of the loft had been full of bags stuffed with clothes, toys, diapers, and various other baby items for almost a week. The second story was almost impossible to walk through, due to the scattered furniture occupying the hallway. The room previously used as the guest room was empty, the floor covered with tarps, and the windows and doors all taped up. The bright yellow paint Kate had Rick had ended up deciding on had finally finished drying, and the two now stood in the center of the room in old clothes. Kate held a can of pastel pink paint, Rick baby blue.

After much discussing in the paint aisle of the hardware store, they had eventually decided on yellow for the base color of the nursery, and splatter painting the rest pink and blue.

"Ready?" Rick asked her with a smile.

"Ready." She said with a smile and a determined look in her eyes.

They both dipped their hands into the paint buckets and started flinging the colors at the walls. They spun around, rotating to different walls so that both colors were on each wall equally. Multiple times, they aimed their handfuls of paint more at each other than at the walls themselves.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 5_

"I feel like an old woman." Beckett groaned as she walked into the loft with Castle, "A fat old woman."

"You're not fat," Castle said with a chuckle, then nodded down at her stomach, "The girls are."

She then stopped for a moment, putting her hand on her stomach and smiling, "I think they heard you…" She said, reaching over to his hand and placing it just under hers. She felt the thump against her stomach again, and watched as his eyes lit up, "Let that be a lesson to you…no calling them fat."

...ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 6_

Kate walked into the small grocery store, glancing at the clock on the wall; 2:46am.

She had awoken hungry, and when she snuck out of bed and went downstairs to find herself a midnight snack, there had been none of the cherry popsicles left. So, she slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbed her keys, and silently slipped out of the loft.

So she was now wandering the aisles of the store, searching for the frozen treat. When she got to the frozen foods aisle, she quickly grabbed a few of the boxes, and made her way to the checkout line.

The clerk was missing, and the only other person around was another pregnant woman, waiting in line with multiple bags of potato chips.

"Cravings bugging you too?" The woman asked Kate as she walked up behind her.

"Yah," She said, chuckling slightly.

"I'm Haley," The woman said, holding her hand out with a smile.

"Kate," Beckett greeted her, shaking her hand.

"When are you due?" Haley asked her.

"April 4th," Kate told her, "You?"

"March 23rd," She said, "That's weird that we're so close together…you look so much bigger than I am."

"Yah, well, I've got twins," Kate told her with a smile

"Really? Wow, and are they your first?" Haley asked her.

"Yah,"

"Oh wow…good luck," Haley told her with a chuckle, "I'm worried enough with just one."

The clerk came scurrying out of a back room, apologizing to the women for the wait, then checked them out speedily.

"It was nice to meet you," Kate told the girl as they left the store, each heading for their cars.

"You too," Haley said, rushing back to her car and waving as she drove away.

As soon as she was in her car, Kate opened one of the Popsicle boxes, dug a cherry flavored one out, and just sat in the parking lot of the grocery store indulging herself in it.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ackkkk! I hated this chapter. It took me like…foorreeevvveeerrrr to write…and it was just bad. :(**_

_**I'm in need of motivation…..haha :)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Ok. So, yah. I don't even know what to say…write…?**_

_**I'm going to be gone for like…a while, starting this afternoon….and so I've got to get this chapter done before then…so…its crunch time! :D**_

_**And, will it be another bad chapter? Well…goodness knows I hope not…but, I don't have much of a plan…soo…yah.**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 7_

It was almost three in the morning. Kate lay awake in the large bed, listening to Rick's breathing and holding her stomach as the babies kept squirming around and keeping her from falling asleep.

After almost a full hour of just laying there, she eventually got bored of just waiting for them to stop moving, and slowly sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the room, and creeping out the door, leaving a still sleeping Rick.

She snuck into the nursery, turning on a small lamp next to the rocking chair and sitting down, looking around the room with a smile.

They had just finished moving in all of the furniture and other items into the room, and the whole thing was starting to actually feel real.

Two identical cribs sat parallel to each other on the wall opposite the door, one with purple sheets, one with pink ones. On the wall adjacent to the one with the cribs, a large diaper changing station was set up, with stacks of diapers, wipes, and various powders aligning the sides of it. The drawers under the cushioned top area were stuffed with different dresses, shirts, onesies, socks, pajamas, and more, that Kate and Alexis had spent hours at various stores shopping for. Then, a large, colorful chest full of blocks, stuffed animals, dolls, and multiple other little toys, was under the window that had a full view of the city. Then, the rocking chair Kate sat in was placed just beside the window, in the corner of the room. A small side table with a little lamp was beside it, and a crate of books that Castle had picked out while she and Alexis had clothes shopped. Kate had been slightly worried about the extent of happiness he had gotten out of reading and choosing the books he thought fit for their little girls.

She had to admit, though, he made some good choices.

A particularly hard kick to the inside of her stomach made her sigh, and she grabbed a random book out of the small collection of them. Winnie the Pooh. She couldn't help but smile as she opened it to the first page.

"In a little house deep in the Hundred-Acre Wood, a very round bear named Winnie the Pooh was doing his slimming exercises." She read aloud with a smile. Almost immediately after she started reading, the kicking stopped, and she could fell all the movement in her stomach settle, "He was breathing deeply when, all of a sudden, he felt his tummy rumble."

"Oh my," A voice, in a very impressive Winnie the Pooh impression, sounded from the doorway. Kate paused her reading and looked up at a smiling Rick, who seemed to already have every line of the book memorized. He continued in his Pooh voice, reciting word for word what the book had written, without looking at it once, "This up-and-downing is making me hungry."

"Pooh hurried to the cupboard and got out his honeypot." Kate continued reading the narrated part.

"Bother!" Rick said in his Pooh-voice, "There's nothing left but the sticky part."

"But the sticky part was better than no honey at all, so Pooh stuck his nose into the pot and licked up the last little bit." Kate said with a smile, "With his head still in the pot, Pooh heard a buzzing sound."

"That buzzing means something!"

"_Pop!_ He pulled his head out and saw a bee fly out his window."

They continued the story, Castle doing almost spot-on impressions of not only Pooh, but Christopher Robin, Tiger, Piglet, Eeyore, and the rest of the gang.

When they were done with the story, Castle put the book back, then started flipping through the collection again, looking for something.

"What're you doing?" Kate asked him sleepily.

"You chose that book, now I'm going to read you my favorite."

Kate rolled her eyes, but leaned her head back against the rocking chair and let her eyes slowly shut as he started reading the story about a baby porcupine whose parents just couldn't find a suitable name for him.

Kate slipped into unconsciousness before she ever even figured out his name.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 8_

"Do you what-" Kate stopped midsentence, closing her eyes and breathing deeply as she waited for the contraction to stop. She felt Castle place an encouraging hand on her knee underneath the table.

"Dude, what is her problem?" The man they were interrogating asked Castle, "I ignored it the first two times…but seriously, she looks like she's like constipated or something."

"Do you want to know something, Mr. Carson?" Beckett asked him when a moment later, "You don't want to mess with an irritable pregnant woman."

"You really don't," Castle mouthed to the man, giving him a serious look.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Montgomery opened the door, motioning for the two to step out. They walked out of the interrogation room together and followed Montgomery to his office. As they were walking away, Ryan and Esposito took their place in the interrogation room.

Montgomery held the door open for Beckett, then followed her in and started to shut the door behind him, shaking his head at an annoyed looking Castle.

"Beckett," He said as he went behind his desk and sat down, "I think it's time for you to stop doing interrogations.

"But, Sir, I-"

"I know, I know," He interrupted, "But I was just watching that last one, and every time you pause, it gives the suspect time to recollect themselves…gives them time to think. That used to be one of your best points while you were interrogating; the fact that you didn't give them _time_."

"Ok, but I can-"

"Please, Beckett," Montgomery broke her sentence off again, "I could have taken you out of work a while back, but you've still been helpful, and I trust that you'll take off when you need it. I'll still let you work on cases, but just…not with any interaction with our suspects until your babies have been born and you're ready to be back."

Beckett sighed and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, knowing that there was no use arguing with him.

She exited the office, and Castle was almost immediately at her side, asking what the Captain had wanted to see her about.

"I'm off interrogation duty," She stated simply with a shrug.

"Are you ok?" Castle asked her. She was a detective, and was good at masking her emotions, but he knew her well, and every time she was told that she couldn't do different things within her job, he could tell how much it aggravated her.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She said, walking over the edge of her desk and staring at the murder board.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Back at the loft that night, Kate sat at the counter flipping through the newspaper while Rick cleaned the dishes that he had insisted on washing by himself.

"I have a question…" He said when he was done washing, walking over to the opposite side of the counter that Kate sat at, "About OverHeat."

"What is it?" She asked, folding the newspaper over and setting it down.

"Well, I've only signed for one other Nikki Heat book in the series after this one, and so I've been thinking that I'd start setting it up in this book so that I could wrap up the series in the next one." He said. Kate just looked at him, waiting for more, "And so, in this book, Rook and Nikki have gotten together…and they seem very happy."

"Do they?" Kate said with a smirk.

Castle returned the smirk, then went on, "And, Rook is at the point that he's thinking about marriage," Castle paused, taking in Kate's expression. She continued staring at him, but seemed to have been frozen momentarily, so he continued, "But, he's not sure that's what Nikki would want…so he doesn't want to ask yet."

Kate swallowed, took a deep breath, and stalled her answer so that she could think about what she wanted to say before the actually spoke, "I think…that Nikki might go for it. Because, it's been made pretty obvious in the last two books that they're pretty much made for each other, and, I haven't read what been going on in their relationships…but I'm pretty sure that he'd have proved himself before he asked."

"So, you think he'd actually have a chance?" He asked her, his eyes bright. She just grinned and nodded her head.

...ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**WARNING: mega rambling ahead…**_

_**Ok. So I've got a lotta stuff to say… (thus the warning…)**_

_**First of all, the Winnie the Pooh story was taken word for word from one of my very favorite story book, "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" Aaannnddd the book about the porcupine that Beckett fell asleep during was A Porcupine Named Fluffy. That, it's also a freakishly amazing book. Haha, since the time I started this chapter, I've read about 20 kids books. :) My little sister and I sat in her bedroom reading books, trying to decide which ones were the best to put in here :)**_

_**Ok…and…so, is it just me, or does anybody else feel awkward writing about Castle and Beckett and putting their names as Kate and Rick? Haha, I dunno, maybe I'm just a spaz like that…but it's like…the concept of calling a teacher by their first name…its just…awkward and weird. O.o lol.**_

_**Aanndddd I feel obligated to include my inspiration for this chapter…his name is Oplagoo and he is a super awesome and mega fast weird bug thing that attacked me about 5 words into the chapter. Like, seriously…I screamed and almost peed my pants. But then, he just hung around the laptop and stuff…and whenever I try to touch him he flys away and he is like SUPER fast so I can never find him…but he keeps coming back, so it's ok :) And I dunno what kinda bug he is…hes like…puke green, with pretty yellow stripeys…and a creeper face. But he's like my new BFF. :D**_

_**Aannddd now for the sadddderrr parts. I don't really know when the next update will be… :O Because like…I'm leaving innnn aproximatlyy 3 hours aannnddd 44 minutes. Aaannddd then I'm gonna-**_

_**Hold the phone! Pause that thought! Oplagoo just attacked me again! He's on my nose! Omg! Omg…it tickles! :D**_

_**Haha anyway, then I'm gonna be out of state until Monday at like…bedtime. Then Tuesday we're driving my big sister to college aanndd Wednesday I start school…NOOOOO! DIE SCHOOL DIE! Sorry…Had to get that out of my system.**_

_**Oplagoo is bugging me…like seriously. We've got to go have a serious talk about him hanging out on my nose…that's just not a good place for him.**_

_**(Oh, and…Oplagoo has nnever seen reviews…so ya know…maybe you should show him what they are…. Haha)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**School SUCKS BUTT! …just saying. I miss summer…like…a lot.**_

_**PS: Oplagoo is missing, :( It's like…I've already spent like 10 minutes crying…and then an extra 5 minutes laughing at myself for crying… **_

_**But no seriously…he needs to be found. O.o He's my flippin inspiration! How will I WRITE without him? **_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Month 9_

"Beckett, _why_ are you still here?" Montgomery asked her incredulously when she entered the precinct with Castle at her heels, "Your due date is _tomorrow_."

"Trust me, I know." She sighed, "These contractions are _killing me_."

"Well then _go home_." He told her, "Be with Castle."

"Castle isn't here, he's helping Alexis study for a big test coming up. And I'm fine," She insisted, "If it gets too bad I'll leave, I promise."

"Fine," He gave in with a groan, "Just, make sure you stick to that promise."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"I'm sure he did it." Ryan said, exasperated, as he and Esposito left the interrogation room.

"Yah, me too, man," Esposito agreed, "Too bad Beckett's not interrogating right now…she could have cracked him."

"Could have cracked who?" Beckett asked, walking up behind them.

"Ryan Mitchell," Ryan scoffed, "Our vic's step-brother."

"He'd never exactly kept it a secret that he didn't like his brother…and now, the brother just turns up dead days after Mitchell found out that he wasn't getting his father's fortune, but his he was." Esposito explained.

"Ok, so we've got motive…does he have an alibi?" Beckett asked them.

"He does, but it's a weak one. Apparently he was at a small party with some of his friends." Esposito told her.

"So, we've got their word for it, but all of them have been convicted for one thing or another, so there's a big enough chance that they're just covering for their buddy." Ryan said.

"No tangible evidence links him to the murder, though, so there's not enough to convict him." Esposito said, "We need a confession."

Beckett narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking past the two and through the small window in the doorway leading to the interrogation room. She could just barely see the man, Ryan Mitchell, sitting with a smug grin on his face.

"Give me that," She said, grabbing the case file out of Esposito's hand and walking towards the room.

"What are" Esposito said, "We need a confession."

Beckett narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking past the two and through the small window in the doorway leading to the interrogation room. She could just barely see the man, Ryan Mitchell, sitting with a smug grin on his face.

"Give me that," She said, grabbing the case file out of Esposito's hand and walking towards the room.

"What're you doing?" Ryan asked her.

"I'm going to get this guy to confess." She stated.

"Montomgery's not going to be happy." Esposito told her matter-a-factly.

"As of now, I don't really care. He's not happy with me right now anyway."

As she swept into the room, Ryan and Esposito exchanged worried glances, but retreated into the observation room just in time to see Beckett slamming the folder down on the table in front of the surprised looking suspect.

"Ryan Mitchell…" She said slowly to the man, "Step-brother of Hayden Fritz. You never really liked him, did you?"

"No, he was both of my parent's favorites…even my father, and he wasn't even _his_."

"But that wasn't why you killed him, was it?"

"I _didn't_ kill him." Mitchell told her. Too calmly, she thought…if he really was innocent, he would be more defensive about it.

"No, you killed him because of your father. He's ill, correct?" Beckett continued, not acknowledging his comment.

"Yes." He stated.

"And, he just announced that he would be giving the majority of his fortune to not you, but your brother."

"He's _not_ my brother." Mitchell spat.

"Sorry, step-brother," Beckett said.

…ooo…

"You think she's gonna break him?" Esposito asked Ryan, back in the observation room.

"Yah, no way that guys going to stay cool when put up against an annoyed, hormonal Beckett." Ryan told him.

The two looked back through the one way window, surprised to see that Beckett had momentarily stopped talking. She had her head down slightly and looked like she was focusing on the floor. When she spoke again, her voice was slightly shaky and she seemed like she was almost out of breath.

"What do you think is up with her?" Esposito asked Ryan carefully, not taking his eyes off their boss.

"No clue…contractions?" Ryan said back, stealing a glance at his partner before returning his concerned gaze back to Beckett.

"Maybe…" Esposito said, "But she's never acted like that with them before.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Fine! I killed him, alright?" The aggravated man finally yelled out. Beckett had been practically screaming at the man for almost 20 minutes after her sudden pause. Ryan and Esposito had been getting seriously worried about her condition, and both gave out sighs of relief when the man finally confessed. They met Beckett outside of the observation while one of the other officers went inside the room and brought Ryan Mitchell into holding.

"Way to go, Becks." Ryan said cheerfully, patting her on the shoulder.

"Yah, I didn't think he would ever-" Esposito started.

"Shh," She cut him off suddenly, talking between breaths, "One of you two need to drive me to the hospital. My water broke about halfway through that interrogation."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"What do you want me to do?" Ryan asked her from the front seat. Esposito was driving with a determined look on his face, and Ryan had been fidgeting nervously in his seat the whole duration of the car ride.

"Call Castle," Beckett said in between one of her deep breaths, "Tell him to meet us at the hospital."

"Ok," Ryan said hurriedly, grabbing his phone and quickly dialing the number. He waiting impatiently for a minute or two before shutting the phone and groaning loudly, "He's not answering!"

Beckett closed her eyes in frustration from her spot in the backseat of the car. Ryan redialed Castle's number and started tapping his foot impatiently as he called again and again.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick collapsed into the large, cushiony chair in the living room, still wearing his laser tag gear.

He _had_ been studying with Alexis, but she had gotten frustrated, and one thing led to another, and they had eventually begun a whole ongoing battle for rule of the Omniverse.

She had won (as she normally managed to somehow do), and had retreated back up to her room to do some more studying.

He reached for his phone as it began buzzing from the side table next to him. His eyes widened when he opened it. 8 missed calls from Ryan, 4 from Beckett, 2 from Esposito, and a new text that had just come in.

"_Castle, where the heck are you? Beckett's in labor…they just wheeled her into her room. You'd better get your butt down before those babies are born or she is seriously going to shoot you."_ Ryan's text read.

Ricks eyes widened he jumped off the couch and quickly spun the corner, knocking off a lamp in the process and cringing at the shattering sound it made as he ran to get his jacket.

"Dad, what was that?" Alexis asked, walking down the stairs to see what the commotion was.

"Kate just went into labor…I've got to go," He said hurriedly, running around the apartment to grab various items, "Call your grandmother and have her take you to the hospital when she gets back."

Alexis' eyes widened and she grinned widely, "Ok! Love you, Dad!"

"Love you, too, Alexis!" He yelled as he ran out the door and sprinted towards the stairs.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Thank God," Esposito said as Castle came running into the hospital waiting room.

"Where is she?" Castle asked him quickly.

"Room 439," Ryan told him, pointing down the hallway, "They'll probably be expecting you."

He nodded as he half-ran down the hallway, quickly scanning all the room numbers until he came to 439. The door was cracked open, and he silently slid inside, seeing a doctor and a few nurses scurrying about.

He made his way over to Kate, and saw her sigh of relief when she saw him.

"It took you long enough," She told him.

"Yah…sorry about that."

"Alright, now that the dad is here, are you ready?" The doctor at the foot of the bed asked.

Rick looked down at Kate as she nodded. She reached her hand out for his and looked up into his eyes. The fear in them looked unnatural on the normally completely in control woman. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiling at her. Her gaze turned back to the doctor as she started talking again.

"Alright, one, two, three," The doctor said slowly. Kate squeezed Rick's hand back tightly, "Push,"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Hahahaha omg, so if my entire family wasn't asleep right now, I would have been laughing hysterically at how awkward I felt writing that last scene. I mean…like…wow. Just wow. Please tell me it wasn't as bad as I thought it was? Haha, you know…I blame Oplagoo…if he hadn't gone missing, maybe I would have been able to write it better.**_

_**And now I really have to go to bed…so no fun long not today. I know, sucks…**_

_**Oh goodness…I still can't get over how bad that seemed. Yeesh! Gosh I just have to get away from this computer…**_

_**Please review! Renew my faith in my writing… :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Ok…so this chapter is back to normal(ish). Haha, no more separating things by months. Aaannddd I kinda have no clue how to write this one either… O.o Like…I seriously just don't know right now. Grr…I don't feel like writing. I apologize ahead of time for the chance of this chapter seeming really forced… cuz it probably will be.**_

_**And, I've decided to skip the hospital scenes…and yah, some of you will probably be mad at me…but I would fail majorly at writing it and not like it at all…so yah :) this is going to start like…right as Beckett and Castle are getting back to their apartment with the babies :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Nella and Kylee Castle. The names had been of Rick's choosing, but Kate had happily agreed to them. They were much better names than his original suggestions of "one and two", "A and B", and "Baby Red and Baby Blue".

The two had just gotten back to the loft, and had been eternally grateful when the twins had both fallen asleep on the car ride.

The happy parents sat on the couch of the living room, Rick holding Kylee and Kate holding Nella. Alexis was at school, and Martha was spending the day with Chet, so the two were left to bond with their children.

Staring at the sleeping little face of his daughter, Castle had started to doze off himself. It wasn't until he heard Kate hissing his name that he realized that the little girl in his arms was starting to stir, and looked as though she was about to start to cry.

He jumped up quickly, holding her out slightly as he leapt out of the room so that he wouldn't shake her, and quickly made his ways up the stairs before the baby's cries woke up her sister.

A few minutes later, Kate appeared at his side, having left Nella asleep in the crib downstairs.

"She's got a stinky…" Rick told her, scrunching up his nose and tilting his head towards Kylee, who was lying on the changing table, still stifling tears, and sitting in a very rancid smelling diaper. Rick handed her the clean diaper he had in his hand and grinned at her, "You want to do it?"

She grabbed the diaper from him, biting her lip and staring down at the baby with narrowed and determined eyes. Although she would have never admitted it to him, she had never changed a diaper before, and had been hoping she would have been able to do it the first time in privacy, to avoid embarrassment.

"Here," He said, handing her a pair of heavy duty goggles and long yellow rubber gloves.

"What're these for?"

"Trust me, I've had experience with Alexis, and with diapers this stinky," He said, gesturing to Kylee, "You're going to want all the protection you can get."

She nodded, putting the goggles and gloves back on and turning back to face the changing table. Holding her breath, she slowly pulled apart the diaper, and couldn't help but let it out in disgust when she saw the contents inside the tiny diaper. She quickly ridded the baby of it, and grabbed and wiped her with a wet wipe from the large box of them at the back of the table. She then put the clean diaper under her, and had grabbed for the baby powder, had unscrewed the top of it, and was just tipping it, when a sudden loud squealing from the first floor of the loft broke the silence of the room. Kate flinched at the noise intruding through her concentration, and the baby powder bottle was thrown upward slightly, and it hit the edge of the changing table as it came back down, covering Kate in a cloud of the white powder.

Rick let out the fit of laughter he had been holding in the whole process of watching Kate change Kylee's diaper.

"I'll go get her," He said through his laughter, running out of the room to get the crying Nella…and a camera.

He returned a minute later, having successfully quieted Nella, and snuck into the room with a camera around his neck. Kate was still covered in power, having only cleared it away from the front of the goggles she still wore, and was now finishing fastening the diaper on Kylee. He quickly snapped a picture before she noticed he was there.

"What was that for?" She asked him, having realized he was there when she heard the click of the camera.

"It's a Kodak moment, Kate," He said with a chuckle, "I couldn't let this pass."

He walked up to her, setting Nella down next to her sister on the changing table, and wiped away the powder on her face, giving her a quick kiss.

"And, by the way," He told her with a sly grin, "I never wore goggles…or gloves. As far as I know, nobody does…it was just really obviously your first time."

He fully expected the smack to his arm she gave him a moment later.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"So, I was thinking…" Rick said to her a while later, while they sat together, watching Nella and Kylee lie on their backs and examine and chew on the various items they had given them, "There's an early release of OverHeat this Saturday…and I thought it might be a good time to go back out into public together…you know…non-pregnant."

"Do you…" She said, absentmindedly, staring at the twins. It had been almost a month since they had all came back to the loft together, as a family. She looked over at him a minute later, "If I say yes, will I get to read the book in advance, also?"

"Why, of course," He told her, "And, believe me…I tried to arrange it so that you could get it sooner, but Gina hasn't been the easiest to deal with lately."

"I wonder why…" Kate muttered.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"And you're sure they'll be ok?" Kate asked him, for the millionth time that night. They had just left the loft, leaving Kylee and Nella with Alexis and Martha, as they headed out to the first release of OverHeat.

"I'm _positive_ they'll be fine." He told her, again, "You're going to have to stop being so protective if you ever want to get back to the precinct."

"I know, I know…"

They arrived at the large (and packed) bookstore about twenty minutes later. Rick wrapped his arm around Kate's back as they walked in through the front doors together, being greeted by a thousand flashes of cameras.

They, eventually, made their way out of the hoard of photographers, and got the places they needed to be. Castle stood up in front of the crowd at the podium, reading a passage from the book, and being met with a thunderous applause when he concluded from the fans standing packed into the center of the store.

"This is quite the turnout," Kate said to him, standing next to him while he sat at a folding table, signing copies of the new book.

"Yah, this is the first time in quite a while I've done an early release available for the public…I would imagine the fans would be pretty psyched." He said happily between signatures.

"Detective Beckett?" A teenage girl who had just gotten her book signed by Castle had walked to the side of the table towards Kate, looking quite scared, "Could I get your autograph, too?"

Kate blinked once or twice in shock, staring at the girl incredulously, "Seriously?" She asked her, getting an eager nod in response, "Well alright…" She took the open book from her and signed it quickly. The girl thanked her, and then ran back to her small group of friends, practically jumping up and down, pointing at the signature. Her friends all looked at the signature, then up at Beckett. A moment later, they were all in front of her asking for signatures also.

"Wait, Kate is signing too?" One of the girls in line for her book to be signed by Castle asked loudly, "Sweet!"

Soon enough, the line was double the length it had been, and Kate had a chair next to Castle and was signing just as many books as he was.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Well…I didn't HATE that chapter… :/ although it didn't really have as much baby stuffs as I was planning it to….**_

_**Oh…and ok, so…the names I chose for the babys…aren't random. Well…they kinda are. I had been planning on doing one of them Johanna…but like, all of the baby fanfics out there right now seem to be doing something along the lines of that…so I wanted to be original. Aaannddd sooo, Nella is a name I kinda came up with last year…and I loved…and theres a long story that goes with that one that you don't need to know…aaannddd Kylee is just awesome…cuz its like Kylee Castle…that's got a cool ring to it. And they can call her KC :) lol…and Kylee and Nella kinda go well together…I think… :D**_

_**Aaannnddd the last little scene thingy…might not be realistic? Haha, I dunno…but I was thinking, if I were a crazy obsessed fan at a book signing, I would want the authors signature (obviously…..) but if the inspiration for the books there were too, like…dude, I'd want her signature too. Haha, so yah… :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Thank God for the weekend… :)**_

_**Alright…so…I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a looonnnngggg time. :D Italics are gonna be whats written in the book…annnddd just normal non-italicized stuffs is just…normal…I hope that makes sense. Hehe :) **_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate sat down on the big, cushiony couch in the living room, sighing deeply. She had _finally_ gotten both of the girls asleep, and Rick was gone at another early release, so she _finally_ had time to read again.

It had taken her much longer than she would have liked to finish his book, thanks to all the time she had to spend with Nella and Kylee. However, about once every other day, she was able to squeeze in a chapter or two. Yesterday, she had, unwillingly, been dragged away from the book in the midst of the last chapter, to go deal with a sobbing Nella, while Alexis had played with Kylee.

She stretched out, taking a moment just to embrace the silence, before opening the book to the last few pages.

_Jameson Rook knew that he very well may be clinically insane to do what he was about to do. However, the consequences of the actions he was planning weren't running through his mind as he ran out of his apartment and hailed a cab._

_He shivered as he waited for a taxi to pull over. Maybe running out into the cool Spring air wearing only a T-shirt wasn't the best idea. However, when he had left his apartment, he had only grabbed the small box from his bedside table drawer, where he had been keeping it hidden for the last few weeks, waiting for the courage to arise within him to take it out._

_He quickly hopped into the warm cab that had just pulled up, telling the driver the address he had been repeatedly running through his head for that last ten minutes. His stomach nodded as the taxi began to move through the crowded streets, and he had to remind himself, again, that it would all run smoothly._

_When the cab stopped again in front of the familiar apartment building, Rook threw a few crumpled up bills at the driver, hopping out of the car before he received the change. Sneaking in through the open door behind one of the residents who had just walked in, he silently made his way across the lobby, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached his destination._

_He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, surprised by his sudden confidence. _

"_Rook?" Detective Nikki Heat answered the door with a confused expression, wearing her pajamas, and holding a half drunk glass of wine._

"_Can I come in?" He asked her quietly. She moved out of the way, closing the door behind him as he swept in through the door and a little ways into the apartment. When he spun around again, he found her standing just behind him, having followed him over. He took the wine glass from her and put in on the counter next to them._

_She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but her eyes widened in realization and her breath caught in her throat when he dropped down to one knee, never breaking eye contact with her._

"_Nikki," He said seriously, "I don't have some impressive speech prepared, but I want you to know that I don't remember ever being as happy as I am now, and I was thinking about some of the best days of my life, the other day…and I couldn't think of one that wasn't spent with you. I want you to know that I am madly in love with you,"_

_She held her breath unconsciously as he stood up and took a small box from his pocket, flipping it open and revealing the most beautiful, sparkling ring she had ever seen._

"_Will you marry me, Kate?"_

She didn't even realize her breath was held. Her eyes locked on her name written. Not Nikki, but Kate. It was the last line of the book…she took a deep and shaky breath, looking around the room, half expecting him to be right there, down on one knee.

At that moment, Alexis walked through the door of the loft with a large grin on her face.

"Hey, Kate," She said to her, "There's a car waiting for you downstairs, I've been told to make sure you get in it."

"What about-"

"I'll watch Nella and Kylee. Don't worry," Alexis told her, still grinning, "Just go,"

"Thanks, Alexis," Kate told her quickly, grabbing her jacket and running out the door.

When she got down to the street, she looked around, and her eyes immediately stopped on a long, shiny, black limo stretched out in front of the building. A professional looking driver in a tux was standing on the sidewalk looking around.

"Ah, Miss Beckett?" The driver asked as Kate approached him cautiously.

She nodded, and he walked over to her door and held it open with a grin. She slid in slowly, looking around. A small white note with _Kate_ scrawled across the front of it in elegant script was sitting on the seat next to her.

_You're going to want to make yourself comfortable…there's a bit of a drive ahead._

_Rick_

She read the note over a few times, then sighed, looking out the window, letting her mind run astray to all of the different places he could be taking her.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

About an hour later, the car stopped. It was too dark outside to see exactly where she was, but Kate could hear crashing waves from close by.

As soon as she slid out of the limousine, she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes, shielding her from seeing anything.

"Rick?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes," He said with a chuckle, "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Where are we?" She asked him, ignoring his question.

"You'll see, just walk,"

She obeyed, taking slow and careful steps forward as he kept his hands over her eyes and led her to wherever it was they were going.

"Ok…keep them closed, ok?" He said as he slowly removed his hands.

"Alright…"

She heard some scuffling from the side, and a few moments later all the noise but the wind and the crashing waves had stopped.

"Ok…" He said. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing Rick first, standing in front of her with a huge grin.

On one side, they were only a few feet away from the ocean, and on the other, a picnic was set up on the sandy beach, his Hampton beach house lit up behind it all. She looked back at him and saw him pulling something out of his pocket.

"So, did you like the book?" He asked her, walking up closer to her so they were only about a foot apart.

"I _loved_ the book," She told him with a smirk.

"Glad to hear it," He said, opening the box he had in his hand and revealing the shimmering ring, "And, about the question…?"

She nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact with him, "Yes,"

She held out her finger for him, and he slid the ring onto her finger slowly. He then looked back up at her, and after just staring into her eyes for a moment, cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Its…So…FLUFFFYYYYY! Haha…sorry…I had to get that out there.**_

_**Anyway…I wrote this chapter in like…record time…saying as I've been perfecting it in my head for like…months…literally. Lol**_

_**And like, dude…could you picture the fan sights after that book gets published with Kate's name instead of Nikki's? haha…mass chaos. :)**_

_**Haha, but yahhh there isn't much left to say right now…other thhaaannnn you all really should review…cuz I'm not good at judging whether or not I was a complete fail at writing flufffyness :) Sooo yah… :D**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Sigh…I hate school. Hate it with a passion. A very fiery, burning passion down deep in my soul. I hate it. Not quite as much as I hated Gina at the end of season 2…but pretty freakin dang close. I've had SO MUCH HOMEWORK. Thus the slow updates… :( So sorry…but don't blame me…blame Mrs. J and P. :( Gahh.**_

_**Anyway…next chapter. **_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate awoke the next morning with a smile. She looked over to the side at Rick, who was still fast asleep. She then turned the other way, and slid the ring that lay on the bedside table onto her finger, not able to help the fluttering her stomach started to do when she looked at it.

Memories of the last time the two had been in this bed together crept into her mind, and she realized that it really didn't seem like very long ago at all that the two of them had been in this very house, pretending to be a couple for the sake of Alexis. And now, they had two little girls at home…_their_ home, and were engaged.

A ringing doorbell interrupted her musings, and she quietly crept out of the bed and tiptoed out of the room, while Rick stayed motionless.

She didn't bother changing before she went down to answer to door. She doubted anybody who would be ringing the doorbell at 8am would mind terribly to be greeted by a woman in oversized men's clothes. In Richard Castle's beach house, it probably wasn't that uncommon.

Kate opened the door grinning, but her face fell a little when she saw the small, frail looking old lady who stood with wide, worried eyes just outside the doorway.

"Is Richard here?" She asked with an aged voice.

"Um, yah, he's upstairs asleep…do you want me to go get him?"

"No, no…not exactly," The woman told her, "It's just, my cat, Mr. Whiskers, seems to have run off again. And, Richard is always so helpful with getting him back."

Kate couldn't help but grin at the thought of Rick searching for a cat with the old woman.

"Well, I don't think he would really appreciate me waking him, but, if you'd like, I could help you find him." Kate offered.

"Oh, would you, dear?" The woman asked, her eyes lighting up, "It would be ever so helpful."

"Of course, just give me a minute to change and I'll be right out."

Kate shut the door as the woman turned to walk away, then snuck back upstairs to grab an outfit for the day. She quickly changed, then met the old woman back outside, where she was searching behind the bushes of Castle's front yard.

"I'm Kate, by the way," She told her when she went out next to her.

"Doris, Doris Crawford," The woman told her, holding her hand out.

The two then went about the search. Doris's house was just next door to Castle's, so after they searched a few places in his yard, they went over to her yard to look around more.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Mr. Whiskers," An old woman's voice called outside of Rick's open window, waking him up. He looked to his side and saw that Kate was already up and out of the room.

"Mr. Whiskers?"The voice called again. Rick groaned.

Mrs. Crawford.

His somewhat batty old neighbor was always convinced that her deceased cat, Mr. Whiskers, had only ran away again, and he was always put in charge of helping her 'find him'. The task only consisted of walking around with her until she forgot what it was she was looking for and retreated back inside her house, but looking up trees and behind bushes day after day that he vacationed here was getting old.

"Mr. Whiskers?" Another woman's voice called from outside the window. Ricks face broke out in a grin. So _that's_ where Kate went.

He pulled on a shirt and pair of pants over his boxers, and ran downstairs to join her.

"Good morning," He said when he was outside and found her crouched behind a row of bushes and searching for the cat.

"Rick," She said, turning around to face him, "You're neighbor lost her cat, I was trying to help her find it,"

"Yah, I realized," He said with a humorous glint in his eyes.

"What?"

"Mr. Whiskers, the cat you're looking for, has sort of been dead for around three years." He told her with a smirk.

"What?" She asked him incredulously, looking around him and over to the old woman walking along the beach and calling out the cats name.

"Yah, she makes me help her look for him about every other day I'm up here." He explained to her.

"Well, why don't you just tell her that he's dead?"

"Oh trust me, I try…it just doesn't work out too well. She insists that he's only hiding." He rolled his eyes dramatically, "Just stop calling out his name, and eventually she forgets about what she's looking for and goes back inside.

"Excuse me, dears," The woman said sweetly from behind them, "I seem to have forgotten what I was searching for…you don't happen to know, do you?"

Rick shot Kate an 'I-told-you-so' look, then smiled back at his neighbor, pulling a pen from the pocket of his shorts, "Your pen. It belongs to one of your children, and you misplaced it yesterday. Not to worry, though, Kate and I just found it."

"Oh of course, I remember now." She said with a smile, taking the pen from Rick, "Thank you, dears. I suppose I'll see you later."

The old woman walked back towards her house, retreating through the front door.

Kate looked back at Rick, who had been watching the woman walk away with a grin on his face, "I remember when I first moved here, and Mrs. Crawford was still sane…" He told Kate, "Those were good times."

The two walked back to the house together, where Rick started a pot of coffee and Kate sat at the counter on the other side of him.

"When are we going back to the city?" She asked him, "We should probably get back to Kylee and Nella pretty soon."

"We aren't going back yet," Rick told her, then, looking at her skeptical expression, added, "Martha is bringing the twins and Alexis up here for the weekend. I thought it would be nice to have a little picnic on the beach…maybe go swimming,"

"I think it's still a little cold for swimming,"

"Well, then a picnic on the beach, nonetheless." He said with a grin.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Kylee, don't-" Kate started, but didn't get to the little girl in time before she knocked over the pitcher of lemonade into the sand.

Kylee looked up at her mother with wide eyes, having realized she'd done something wrong. Kate just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile, picking her up and moving her away from the sticky sand.

Rick stood up, wiping the sandwich crumbs off his shirt and grinned at his family.

"What's the smile for, dad?" Alexis asked him.

"Oh, I was just thinking about when you and I used to have competitions on who could build the best sand sculptures out here."

"I remember that," Alexis said with a grin, standing up also, "But we stopped doing it like, five or six years ago."

"Then you should do it again," Kate said, smiling, "We all should."

"Oh, not me, kiddo," Martha said, standing up and taking a few steps back from the group, "I'm skilled in the theatrical arts, nothing else."

"Oh come on, mother," Rick said smiling, "None of us are _that_ good."

"Fine," Martha huffed, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt and kneeling carefully in the sand.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

About an hour later, everyone was just about done. They had all vowed not to look at one another's, however, it would be a lie if any one of them said that they hadn't peeked at all.

Kate sighed, looking down at the somewhat pathetic looking sandcastle she had been trying to build. Every time she had gotten a good start on it, either Kylee or Nella (both had been placed on her 'team') would knock it over. The two found it quite hysterical. Kate was thoroughly amused by the enjoyment the twins got out of it, but she was almost positive the sad looking pile of sand in front of her would win the competition.

"Everybody done?" Rick's voice sounded from behind her. Three different agreements were spoken, and the whole group stood up and turned around.

"What've you got, Alexis?" Rick asked her happily, as the whole group surrounded her sculpture.

"It's a seal," She told them with a grin. The sculpture did look quite a bit like a seal, too. She had obviously had some problems with the sand caving in, but it, overall, looked pretty good.

"Mother?"

"Mine is a mermaid," Martha told them, staring down at the strangely shaped blob in the sand.

"A mermaid?" Rick asked her, confusion evident in his voice.

"Yes, can't you see it?"

"That would be a no…" Kate mumbled quietly.

"Well, not to be a spoilsport, dear, but yours really doesn't look much better." Martha told her with a knowing look.

The group migrated over to the castle Kate, Kylee and Nella had been trying to build, and stared at it in silence for a moment.

Rick then chuckled, breaking the silence, "I have to say, Kate, I would have thought you to be at least a bit more artistic,"

"Hey, don't blame me," She defended herself, "It was these two. They kept knocking it down."

"Tell me, what is _it_, exactly?" He asked her.

"It's a sandcastle." She told him reluctantly.

His face light up significantly, "What a coincidence, mine is two!"

The group moved over to the last sculpture in the sand. Alexis giggled, Martha sighed and rolled her eyes, and Kate's mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at it in awe.

"I introduce you to, the sand Castle." He told them all with a smug grin.

In front of them, was a very lifelike looking sand sculpture of Castle himself. The details weren't perfect, but for only having an hour in the not very cooperating sand and with the wind coming off from the ocean, it was darn near incredible.

"Oh my _God_," Kate said in awe.

"I've seen better," Martha said, turning and walking back towards the house.

"Good job Dad," Alexis told him with a grin, then followed her grandmother back into the house, leaving Kate, Rick and the twins alone with the sculpture.

A tugging on Kate's pant leg had her looking down at Kylee, who was staring fixedly at the sculpture version of her dad. Her eyes slowly made her way up to Kate's, then to Rick's, and back again.

"Daddy?" She asked, pointing at the sculpture.

Kate's eyes flew up to Rick's, and a huge smile stretched across her face as she picked Kylee up and nodded encouragingly at her.

Kylee looked back down at the sand Castle with her head crooked to the side a little, then repeated, "Daddy,"

On the street, a ways away from the happy group on the beach, a single man sat inside an idling car with tinted windows. He held a pair of binoculars tightly in his trembling hands as he stared at the group from afar with hatred in his eyes.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**1-How old are Kylee and Nella? …well…my answer…is….old enough to talk. :D**_

_**2-I hate school. (But you all already know that :])**_

_**3-I FINALLY came up with a plot! Hahahaha, aren't you all just soooo proud of me? Heheeehehehe :) I was like…dude, this story doesn't have a plot…then it was like….plot. It's not really in the story yet…really…but….it'll come in due time…don't you worry.**_

_**4- a continuation of 3. Hehe. Ok…so I have like…5 hours of homework every night…and its football season so I've gotten be practicing for marching band all the time. Grrr. Sooo yesss, sadly, that'll mean that the updates will be slowing. :',( NOOO! :( freakin crap…go die school…die…just let me write in peace.**_

_**5- there is no five. Five is a bad number.**_

_**67- I hit two numbers at once and am too lazy to hit the delete.**_

_**8-do I skip seven now cuz it was in the last one?**_

_**9-ok im done being dumb. Hehehe :) Yahh but there really isn't anything else now…soooo…-**_

_**10-Review. :)**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Ohhh the wait since the last update…blame the school board.**_

_**Ohhh the wait from the beginning of summer until today…blame ABC. However. It is now less than two hours. I (literally) got a bit teary eyed when I saw the commercial on about 5 minutes ago. IM SOOOOO FLIPPING EXCITED!**_

_**So, between the 2 hour countdown, the sudden outburst of baby Oplagoo's in our house (I swear to God…Oplagoo gave birth and they are EVERYWHERE!), the random review I got yesterday, orrrrrr the face that I'm actually done with homework sooner than midnight, This chapter has been born. :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"It's time." Robert Thompson stated as he burst through the door of his mangy apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"What is it now?" His roommate, Joe asked him, somewhat exasperatedly.

"Richard Castle," Robert said with a determined look in his eye, "I'm through watching his life play out exactly how mine should have."

"You've said this way too many times to believe that you're actually serious." Joe said with a sigh.

"No, this time it's for real." He emptied the bag of various items, along with the blueprints for the complex plan he had came up with while sitting outside of the increasingly familiar Hampton beach house.

Joe looked up at him with wide eyes, realizing that this time, his friend really was serious.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Rick!" Kate yelled from the upper floor of the loft, "What on earth is this?"

"What is what, hon-" He stopped midway through his sentence when he found his fiancé standing in the doorway of the large walk-in hallway holding up a red and lacy item that had his eyes widen in shock for a moment. He then let out a loud groan, "Aww, you went through my side?"

"Your side?" She asked him incredulously with a raised eyebrow.

"Yah," He told her, sweeping past her and into the closet, standing in front of 'his half' of the small room defensively, "my side. I've got _things_ on my side…and I don't appreciate you snooping."

"Things?" She repeated with a smirk, "And just what _things_ might you be talking about?"

"Well, this, for one," He walked up to her and grabbed the lingerie item from her, "was supposed to be a surprise for our honeymoon." He waggled his eyes suggestively at her, earning himself an eyeroll.

"So sorry to have snooped, then," She told him, walking up close and wrapping her arms around his back, "Anything else you're hiding that I should know about?"

"Actually…" He grinned.

Kate rolled her eyes at him again, before letting go of him and striding out and going back downstairs where her cell phone had just began to ring.

"Beckett," She answered.

"Hey girl," Lanie answered, "You called?"

"Yah," Kate said back, resting one arm on the counter in front of her, "Are you busy today?"

"No," Lanie said slowly, "Why, are you finally ready to fit your dress?"

"Yah…I think it's time." Kate responded quietly. Almost all of the planning for their wedding had been done already, and it was coming along nicely. However, she had been constantly putting the dress to the back of her list. Although she was sure she would wear her mother's dress, as she had been planning to ever since she was a little girl, now that the time was here, she was feeling extremely skeptical about resizing it to fit her.

"Good for you," Lanie told her, "I'll be over in 20."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"You look great," Lanie told her friend encouragingly. Kate just sighed, tilting her head slightly and staring at herself in the mirror. Memories of the pictures of her mother in this same dress flooded her mind, and she could feel her throat tighten a little.

"Alright dear, if you want to change back, I can take the dress and get it all set for you." The elderly fitting woman said.

"Oh wait," Lanie said, disappearing out the door of the room and coming back a minute later with a few dresses draped over her arm.

"Lanie," Kate said skeptically, "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Kate," Lanie told her with a grin, "Every woman deserves the experience of trying on dress after dress with their maid of honor. It's a staple mark of getting married."

Kate rolled her eyes at her friend, but grabbed the first dress off the pile and grinning at her friend.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"See, aren't you glad you did that?" Lanie asked her with a smile. The two sat in chairs on opposite sides of the dressing room, Kate still in the most recent dress she had tried on, and Lanie putting the other ones back on their hangers.

"I suppose so," Kate said sheepishly.

"Well," Lanie said with a slight chuckle, "Why don't you change out of that, and I'll go put these back on the racks.

Lanie then swept out of the room, and Kate stood up from the spot on her chair and looked herself over in the mirror again. She really did like the dress she had on, and if she hadn't been set on wearing her mother's dress, it would most definitely be a potential candidate.

She heard the door crack, but figured it was Lanie and didn't think much of it.

"I thought you were going to put the-" Kate started, but her words caught in her throat when she saw the unfamiliar mans reflection in the mirror behind her. She spun around in shock, and her hand instinctively reached for the gun usually on her hip. She felt only the smooth material of the dress, and her eyes flickered over to wear her gun was resting next to her pants in the corner of the room.

"Who are you?" She asked him with a steady voice, masking any signs of the fear that the man was starting to cause. Normally, she would have easily gotten him out of the room, but something about this man was different. The small, devious smile forming on his lips, the intense hatred burning in his eyes, and the familiar bulge protruding from the side of his pant line that, in her line of work, she had become accustomed to checking for.

He slowly sauntered forward, and she prepared herself to make a move, when she felt a new set of hands grab her from behind, and a sharp needle break the skin in her arm. Almost instantly, the room around her grew fuzzy, and she felt a strong urge to just collapse to the ground and sleep for a year or two.

"Goodnight, Bitch." A slimey voice spoke into her ear just before the world around her fell black.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Less than a half an hour! A freakin half hour! IM SO GONNA DIE! Omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg.**_

_**I have to go mentally prepare myself…like…omg.**_

_**Review review review!**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Allo. May I just say, I almost cried last night I was enjoying that episode so much! :D ahahahahahaahahaha omg…it was pure EPICNESS!. So so so so so amazing. I'm in love. (I have been for a while…but you know…whatever..)**_

_**Anyway…onto story stuff. :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

A loud sound of shattering glass broke the silence of the bridal shop. Lanie was on the back wall of the store, hanging up dresses that Kate had tried on, and didn't hear it. The cashier, however, did, and walked quickly over to the dressing room where it sounded from, knocked once, and opened the door.

She scanned the room quickly. The window curtain that was usually pulled (to give the occupants of the room some privacy) had been pulled off the window and was lying in a heap on the floor. The window itself was shattered to bits, the shards of glass from it covering the floor around it.

The cashier walked up to the window, and her eyes were drawn down to the slight blood trail that started just a few feet from the window. She followed the trail with her eyes until she saw the limp body of a woman in one of the shops wedding gowns being pulled into the back of a large black van without license plates. Just moments later, the van took off, hardly allowing the cashier to process any of her thoughts.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick was in the shower when he heard the cries of Nella and Kylee from downstairs. He had left him in their playpen watching Sesame Street while he ran upstairs to clean himself up. However, he hadn't gotten much time at all before he had to quickly dry off and pull a pair of pants and a shirt on, so that he could go downstairs to see what the twins were crying about.

Almost in the same moment, the crying stopped, and his cell phone rang. He rolled his eyes and quickly retreated back to the bedroom to grab the phone, and then made his way back downstairs.

"Castle," He greeted, walking down the staircase.

"Castle, its Lanie," She spoke into the phone. Rick felt his stomach clench at the sound of her voice…rushed, anxious, worried, fearful….

"What's wrong?" He asked her quickly, finishing his way down the stairs and into the living room where he could hear Elmo's voice coming from the TV.

"Kate's gone." Lanie's voice broke slightly.

Rick didn't answer. Between the two words having just been spoken in his ear, and the sight of his living room in front of him, he felt like he was going to be sick.

The door to the loft was wide open, the handle and lock sitting at weird angles. The playpen Nella and Kylee had been playing in was tipped over sideways, and both of the children were gone.

His knees buckled, and he fell backwards, unconsciously gracious for the couch that caught his fall behind him.

"Castle, are you there?" Lanie asked him hurriedly.

"I…yah," He spoke, extremely surprised that his voice was actually still working.

"Ok, I have to go," She spoke quickly, her voice still shaky, "You should-"

"No, wait, Lanie…They…they're all missing…" Rick's voice broke when he spoke their names, "Kylee and Nella, too."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate awoke with a groan, her hand going up to the large bump on her throbbing head. She could feel that she was still in the wedding dress that she had had on when the man had come, and she wished that she would have had her warmer day clothes on. Wherever it was that she was, and she couldn't see much in the pitch black area around her, it was cold.

A searing pain shot through her leg when she tried to reposition herself. Her hand involuntarily shot out to see what had caused the pain, but a pair of handcuffs binding her wrists prevented her from moved her hands past her knees.

She groaned again and let her head fall back against the concrete wall behind her, and she raked her hands through the stony gravel beneath her.

A dull light suddenly flicked on somewhere above her, shining dimly through a few cracks in the ceiling of area she was in. Then, a small hatch in the ceiling opened, and the crawlspace filled with light.

Kate quickly looked around, taking in her surroundings, and hoping to find something that might be able to help her out sometime later. However, from what she could see, the small underground area was completely empty, aside from her and a small ladder that came down from the hatch in the ceiling.

Her observing was cut short, though, when the all too familiar cries of her children pierced her ears. Her face paled, and she felt her stomach drop. The snarly man that she had seen in the dressing room came down the ladder, holding Nella and Kylee carelessly. Kate had the sudden urge to either scream out, or cry, but she suppressed both wants by swallowing hard and clenching her fists.

"Here," The raspy voice spoke, dropping her girls down next to her, "I thought you might like these to keep you company," He smiled nastily, then took both Kylee and Nella's little hands and fastened them with ropes to the little hook protruding from the wall behind Kate. He then took out a small camera and grinned again, "Smile for Daddy?" He said before snapping it at the three all huddled together; Kylee and Nella sobbing, and Kate trying her best to calm them with what little mobility of her arms she had.

The girls didn't stop their crying until the man had been gone for a little over twenty minutes. Kate held them close, trying to keep them warm from the cool, damp crawlspace air around them. The way their little figures shook had Kate swallowing back tears multiple times.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ok, so I know this is mega short…annddd I'm oh so very sorry…but I'm really tired and wanna go to bed aannndddd I want to get this out before I hit the hay..(cuz its always really fun to wake up to reviews… :D)**_

_**Anyway….so like when I was starting to write this, and I was thinkin about possible plots and stuff…I was trying to steer clear of kidnapping and stuff…cuz theres been a lotta stories about that and you can only get so original…bbbuuutttt the idea kept popping back in my head and I kept getting more and more ideas and I had a way to make it fit perrfectllyyy with the story…so I just did it :) …..i hope I can make it work though…hahaha**_

_**Anyway…the next chapter might not be up until like Saturday…cuz I've got like…a whole crapload of homework coming my way and I dunno if I'll have time…but I'll try! Haha… :)**_

_**Review review reviewidyroo :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Hello all…I'm currently sitting in my grandma's apartment with my more than excessively aggravating little sister. :) I've got sooooooooooooo much homework…but tonight im just gonna relaxxx aanndd write aannnddd watch CASTLE…cuz season 2 came in the mail today! WOOO! :DDD**_

_**Without further adieu…**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Yo, Castle," Esposito said to him when he and Ryan entered the precinct and found Rick sitting in his chair next to Kate's desk looking miserable. He just looked up slowly and nodded once in acknowledgment before returning his head down to his hands.

"Don't worry, bro," Esposito continued, "We'll find them."

"Yah," Ryan added, "You know the bridal shop Beckett was taken in?"

"They've got cameras." Esposito stated, watching as Castle's head shot up and a small shimmer of hope shot through his eyes.

"Do you recognize him?" Ryan asked, showing Castle the slightly blurry camera photo taken of a man in the middle of a bridal shop. "He walked in right about the time she was taken. Cashier said he walked in quickly, said he looked rushed and suspicious. His names…" Ryan looked back down at the notes for the name, but Castle spoke before he had the chance.

"Robert Thompson." He said in an emotionless voice.

"You know him?" Esposito asked.

"Yah…" He said slowly, "He tried to sue me for plagiarism a while back…one of his books has a plot close to one of mine…it was just an overreaction, though…the case was dropped quickly."

"Well, then, at least we've got motive."

Ryan and Esposito went back to their desks, both pulling up things about Robert Thompson. Castle looked forward, staring blankly at the wall. Robert Thompson? It seemed like so long ago that the strange man had filed the lawsuit against him and made such a big deal about not winning. Never, in a million years, would he have thought it would come back to haunt him to this extent.

Castle looked over at Ryan and Esposito. Ryan had made his way over to Esposito's computer and they were both staring at the screen, occasionally glancing at each other, and talking in hushed voices. Castle stood up from his seat, and silently made his way over behind them. His face fell, and he felt his throat close up a little when he saw the image on the screen.

Seeing his two little girls cry always hurt him…but this picture, it just broke his heart. Nella and Kylee were both obviously sobbing, but their expressions weren't just of sadness like they normally were when they cried, the two looked completely terrified. Then, there was Kate. She was wearing a wedding dress, but not hers. He hadn't ever actually seen the dress she planned on wearing for their wedding, but he had seen pictures of her mother in it, so he knew what it looked like, and the one she was wearing definitely wasn't it. The bottom of her dress was stained red…as though her leg had been bleeding. Her head was hanging down, so he couldn't see her face, but, from what he could see, she didn't look good.

His eyes dropped to the message written underneath the photo.

_Say Goodbye, Ricky._

Castle's stomach clenched, and he shut his eyes and turned his head away from the screen.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan said softly after Esposito had cleared the screen of the picture, "I know it looks bad, but we're actually in a much better place than we were before."

He reopened his eyes and looked over and Ryan and Esposito, who were both looking much more optimistic than he was at the moment.

"What do you mean?"

"This guy isn't smart," Esposito explained, grinning, "He sent the message by email…easily traceable. We've already got an address."

"Seriously?" Castle asked him, his eyes lighting up a little. Could it really be this easy?

"Yah," Ryan said happily, "Uniforms are heading over there now to check it out, but we can go too."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"You _what_?" Joe asked his friend when he joined him back at their little house.

"I sent them cops an email with that picture we took." Robert told him with a grin.

Joe smacked him in the back of the head, "You _idiot_! Do you have any idea how easily they can track those? They're gonna be here any minute now!"

"What?" Robert asked, his smile falling flat. Joe groaned.

"Quick, go down in the crawlspace and get them…we're gonna have to move."

Robert lifted the carpet that covered the small door in the floor that led into the crawlspace. He opened the door and climbed down into the clammy air, shining the flashlight into the corner where the bodies should have been…but weren't.

"Joe!" Robert called out, squinting and shining the beam of light around different spots, "They're go-" He was cut off by a sharp blow to the head.

"What the?" His hand flung up to his head, where he felt a wet warmth spreading through his hair. He spun around to face a very stunned Kate crouching behind him with a sharp rock in her hand. She went to hit him with the rock again, but he had already swung his leg back, and pelted it forward so that the hard toe of his boot smashed into her shin and caused her to fall to the ground. As soon as she was down, he lifted his leg and stomped down on her leg, grinning at the loud crack accompanied by her short scream.

"What're you doing down there?" Joe yelled down through the door in the ceiling.

"She got loose somehow," Robert yelled up, "But it's ok, I've got her." He then shined the flashlight around the crawlspace, searching for the two children, "I don't know where the kids went, though…"

"It doesn't matter," Joe yelled, "Just leave 'em. She's the only important one."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate struggled to keep her consciousness, but between smacking her head on the rocky ground when she fell and the intense pain from when the man had snapped her leg had her wavering.

She tried to focus on the two men's conversation, and almost missed the part where they agreed to leave Nella and Kylee where she had left them. A burst of relief flooded through her, and she relaxed more than she had since she had first been taken by them.

She had quickly learned that her captors weren't the brightest. First of all, the handcuffs they had placed on her were old and rusting, and the men had put them on her wrists loosely. She only had to knock them on the cement wall behind her a few times before she got them loose enough to slide them over her hands. Her wrists had gotten a bit battered in the process, but it was bearable. Then, the men had, thankfully, only bound Nella and Kylee with some old ropes. Once Kate was loose, cutting the ropes with the rocks the ground was made up of was simple.

Hiding them had been a little bit more complicated, saying as there was virtually nothing in the small crawlspace. However, one of the times that one of the men had came down to deliver them their meager amounts of food and water, she had noticed that the door from the ceiling swung down into the crawlspace, and hung just a few inches from the ground. So, the next time she heard the familiar noise of the scaping footsteps, and creaking of the door opening, she quickly carried Kylee and Nella behind the hanging door, where it was almost pitch black, concealed from the light. She grabbed one of the larger rocks from the ground and hit the man on the head with it, hoping to knock him unconscious. However, she had been giving almost all of the food and water to Kylee and Nella, and was feeling very weak, and couldn't muster up enough strength.

As the man dragged her out of the crawlspace, she tried to see into the darkness behind the door, and just barely saw the small, dark outlines sitting silently and unmovingly.

She sighed again and closed her eyes. At least they would be alright.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick sat in the backseat of the speeding car, Ryan and Esposito up front, as they approached the mangy looking house about 20 minutes outside the city. A few other cop cars were already outside, having got there a few minutes before them.

The three quickly got out of the car, filing in through the front door that had been kicked open, and walked into the house, that had just been cleared by the other officers.

Why was there nothing here? Almost 10 people searching a house as small as this for three people shouldn't be this complicated. Rick's good mood was slowly falling. What if these people were smarter than they thought? Maybe they had just set it up.

He was about ready to give up when he very faintly heard the familiar cries of his daughters. It was so quiet, he was sure he was imagining things, and he felt his stomach clench. He walked with his head hanging across one of the main rooms of the house, trying to find Ryan and Esposito. As he was walking over the large rug, however, the dull thudding that his footsteps had been making suddenly turned to a hallow thumping, then back to dull thudding again.

His head snapped back up, and he stomped his foot a few times where he was standing. It just sounded like a normal floor. He then backtracked a few steps and stomped his feet again. Hollow sounding. He quickly made his way over to the edge of the rug, and pulled it up. A small handle was nestled into the floor.

"Ryan, Esposito!" He called, seeing them about to pass by him in the hallway. The both looked over at him curiously, then their eyes widened in realization at his discovery. They opened the door slowly, finding that it opened down into the lower level instead of up. Pulling their guns out cautiously, they made their way down the small ladder and motioned for Castle to stay where he was.

He ignored their commands, though, and followed them down, looking around, his heart thumping wildly.

Then, there were the cries again. Much closer this time than before, though. He spun around, and just barely made out the little shadows in the corner of the crawlspace. He ran over to them, scooping their little frames up into his arms and holding them tightly.

"Where's mommy?" He asked them frantically. The two just stared at him blankly.

"Castle," Esposito said, having walked over to him, "She isn't down here."

Rick swallowed hard, then stood up with Nella and Kylee in his arms and nodded once. If they found Nella and Kylee, they could find Kate, too.

He was walking back towards the ladder when something caught his eye on the ground. It was barely lit from the light coming in from the entranceway to the crawlspace, so he had to walk up close to it to see what it was. When he got there, though, he felt his breath catch in his throat and his stomach drop.

Blood.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**AHHHH! Omg…lol. Ahahaha. Omg.**_

_**Omg…did you like this chapter? I didn't. Not at all. Haha, I realized like…when I was like…done…that Castle like totally isn't being…Castle-ish. Sigh…But…it would be weird if he was in this sorta situation…but it's weird when he's not. I'm having dilemma. Arrgg. Arrggidyyarrggarrrgg…**_

_**Umm…umm…ummm…uuummmmm…um. I know there was something else I was gonna say….**_

_**OH! I remembered what…but im not gonna say it cuz its dumb. Haha…ok**_

_**Ok..**_

_**Ok…so you all have to review…cuz I've got this reasoning…that I spent like over an hour writing… aannnddd reviews take like 2 seconds to write…and I'm feeling very unloved at the moment. :) spread the looovvveeee…. :D**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**I HATE FOOTBALL! I HATE it SOOO FREAKIN MUCH!. GRRR! Grrr grrr. Grr. Grr. Grr. Grr. Seriously…dude. I HATE IT! aRRGGG! …Castle is going to be on at 3 FREAKIN AM instead of its normal time, because for some idiotically dumb reason people would rather watch big gross sweaty smelly guys running around in tights and lying on each other? Really people? That over Castle? Ugh.**_

_**So yah…this is what came of that….. **_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Pull over at this gas station, I've got to use the bathroom." Robert told Joe. The two had been driving for a little over an hour, heading out of New York, with Kate in the backseat of the car.

"Fine, just hurry up." Joe stopped the van outside the building, and Robert hurried out. He peeked into the back of the van, checking on their captive. Her eyes were open, but her head was down, and she looked like she was deep in thought. The wedding dress she was still wearing was a complete mess. The top was almost black it had so much dirt on it from being kept in the crawlspace, and the bottom was stained red from both the cut she had gotten on her leg when they had first taken her, and from when Robert had broken it.

She felt his eyes on her, and she slowly lifted her head.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She stated, glad that her voice was still so stable.

"Too bad." Joe said, turning his head around and facing out the front window.

"I realize that you probably wouldn't care if I got it all over myself," She continued, "But do you really want to clean that out of your truck?"

Joe turned back around and glared at her. She held her gaze at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Robert," Joe said to his friend when he got back in the van, "Did they have any clothes in there?"

"Uh, yah…some T-shirts and sweats," He said, "Touristy things."

"Alright, go back in and buy something for her to wear," Joe instructed, then at Roberts confused look, said, "She has to pee…and I really don't want to have to clean that."

Robert rolled his eyes and groaned, but obliged and left the van. He came back a few minutes later and threw the clothes at Kate. They were much too big for her, but she figured that it was probably best…it would be much easier to get loose pants on over her broken leg than if they would've gotten her something too small.

She was pleasantly surprised when the men had left the truck to give her some privacy while she changed. So, in a few minutes, she had the new clothes on, and she rapped on the back door of the van. Joe opened it, and helped her out, but left her to walk on her own after she was out. She walked towards the door of the station, grimacing in pain and doing her best not to limp. Joe walked in a few feet behind her, looking through random shelves and nonchalantly making sure she didn't try to make a run for it.

Kate entered the bathroom, and leaned against the counter, sighing heavily and looking at her reflection. She was much too pale to be healthy, and she had visible bags under her eyes that made her look just as exhausted as she felt.

An elderly woman then walked out of a stall, setting her purse down on the counter while she washed her hands. Kate glanced over and her heart skipped a beat. Poking out of the bag was a book, only the large lettered _Richard Castle _visible.

"Hey," Kate greeted the woman, grinning happily at her.

"Hello, dear," The woman said halfheartedly.

"Is that a Richard Castle novel?" Kate asked her.

"Why, yes it is," The woman said, turning to look at Kate and smiling.

"How many of his books have you read?"

"Oh, I'm a huge fan of his works," The woman said happily, "This is his newest book…I only just got it."

"Naked Heat?"

"Yes,"

Kate swallowed once and turned a little so she could face the woman more fully. She had forgotten about her bad leg for a moment and cringed when weight landed on it.

"Are you hurt, dear?" The woman asked. Kate just waved a hand dismissively.

"My name is Kate…Kate Beckett…" Kate told her, hoping that the woman was a big enough fan to recognize her name.

"Are you really?" The woman gasped and her face broke out into a wide grin, "Why, I didn't even recognize you!"

"Yah," Kate spoke quickly, knowing that soon enough one of the men would come to see what was taking her so long, "I have to ask you to do something, though…something important."

"Why, of course, anything," The woman said, still smiling brightly.

"Two men are waiting for me," Kate spoke clearly, yet as fast as she could, "They're kidnapped me, and I don't know what they're planning on doing." The woman's face dropped, her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a small 'o', but Kate continued, "I'm going to have to go, but I need your help. Stay in the bathroom until just a few moments after I leave, and try to get a good view of the men I go back to."

"Wha-what," The woman stuttered.

"Please, I have to go," Kate said to her desperately, "Just, if anything, call the police, make sure they get connected with the NYPD, and tell them where I am. Any information you could give them would be helpful."

"I…I don't understand," The woman spoke, her voice cracking a little. An impatient knock sounded on the door to the bathroom.

"That's them." Kate said. "I have to go." She hobbled away from the woman, then, just before she opened the door, looked back, "Thank you."

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"911, what's your emergency?"

"M-my name is Ruth Goodman. I've been told to contact the police about a kidnapping."

"A kidnapping? Do you know the name of who was kidnapped?"

"Yes, Kate Beckett," Ruth stuttered, "She was talking to me in a gas station rest room…she told me she had been kidnapped and needed me to make sure the NYPD knew where she was."

"Alright," The voice on the other end of the phone spoke, "I'm going to connect you to one of the detectives working this case at the NYPD, and I need you to tell them everything you know, ok?"

"Alright…"

Ruth stood in the small phone booth, her hands shaking considerably as she watched the dark van that she had watched Kate clamber back into drive away. A few moments later, a new voice spoke into the phone.

"Detective Esposito, NYPD," The voice spoke.

"Hello, my name is Ruth Goodman, and I have information about the whereabouts of Kate Beckett," Ruth said nervously.

"Kate Beckett?" Esposito asked, stopping what he was doing, and gesturing Ryan to come over and listen in.

"Yes…" Ruth said, "I was in a gas station bathroom…and she was there and told me she had been kidnapped…and I needed to alert the New York police where she was."

"And where are you?" Esposito asked her seriously."

"I'm in Elmira," Ruth told him, "In a BP near the city's Walmart."

Esposito quickly wrote down the information, and handed it to Ryan to let him deal with it.

"Alright, is there any other information you can tell me?"

"Yes," Ruth said carefully, "She said she was with two men, and…I saw one of them…he was very tall, and had dark hair. She also had a horrid limp…something must have happened to her leg. The man she was with put her in the back of a big black van, and then they took off."

Esposito shut his eyes, "Was there a license plate on the van?"

"No…no license plate…I was looking for that."

"Alright," Esposito said carefully, "Thank you very much for your help."

"Of course…" Ruth barely got in before the line went dead.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

The next time Kate woke up, she was extremely uncomfortable. Although she had tried her hardest to stay awake on the car ride, she was unsuccessful, and had drifted off into a deep slumber.

How she had managed to stay asleep through the whole process of getting her to where she was now, though, she had no idea.

Her hands were bound in handcuffs, again, but these ones felt much sturdier, and they were a lot tighter on her wrists than the last ones had been. She was leaning against a concrete wall, again, but her hands were above her head, the handcuffs having been looped over a pipe up by the ceiling. She tried to readjust her posture, but her arms were extremely stiff, and no matter how she stood, it seemed to put painful pressure on her bad leg. She sighed and let her head fall back against the cool wall.

"You're awake." A man spoke from the corner. He moved forward until he was standing almost directly in front of her, "Do you have any idea how much of a problem you've caused for us?" A strong hand smashed into her cheek. Her head turned to the side with the blow. She kept her face turned away from him, and slowly opened her eyes, keeping them focused on the floor.

"We've already got to move again, now!" He said angrily, "Is that what you were doing in the _bathroom_? Tattling on us?" He paused for a moment, "You do realize, that this is just all the worse for you. Each time they figure out where you are, we're just goin' to have to keep moving farther away."

Kate didn't respond, she just kept her head down, eyes staring at the floor.

"No, but that's what they'll expect. And, we want to leave you someplace that they'll find you… otherwise this whole thing is just pointless."

She lifted her head again to look him in the eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're going back to the city." He sneered at her, "They won't expect that, so they won't be looking there. And, they'll find you easier there." He then walked away.

Kate watched him go, trying to decipher his words. What he said would mean one of two things, and she was guessing he meant the one that wasn't so good for her.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ba Ba Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa….**_

…

_**Hahaha…ok so do you aalllll wanna know something kinda funny? Lol, while writing this, I was like…doing a few paragraphs of this, then switching to a Biology lab write-up thing we've got to do for school (Swapping doing crap writing with fun writing keep me sane…) aannndddd like..after writing this, goin to the bio paper, there were like, multiple times I'd write like… "When buffers act well to keep acids and bases stable, they watched as she limped out the door from the bathroom…" lol…oh goodness, could you picture what would happen if I wouldn't have caught that? I would have started on how buffers work and ended on how Kate was trying to escape. Hahahahaha, my teacher would be like…omg…what the crap?**_

_**:)))))**_

…_**I still majorly hate football though…like a lot.**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**:)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate sat in the back of the big black van, once again, and stared blankly down at the floor. She felt so dumb about everything. How had she gotten herself into this situation? Her gun…she should have had it closer to her back in the bridal shop. Back in the crawlspace of the first place she had been kept… she should have tried harder to escape then, while she still had her strength and had a functional leg. The gas station…it was a public place, why hadn't she done something more to get anybody else's attention while she had the chance?

And now, she doubted there was anything else she'd be able to do. They were taking her back to NYC… which, should, in theory, be good, for her. However, she had drawn attention to where they _had_ been, hours away from the city. So now, as far as any of the cops looking for her would know, she was either there, or even farther…no one would expect her to be back where they started. No one would find her….

The felt the van slowly come to a stop, and raised her head slightly so she could see the two men in the front seat. They had leaned close together, and were whispering quickly, staring at something outside the window. One got out, and headed towards whatever it was they had been looking at. The other looked back at her, then slid open the window that separated the back of the van and the two front seats.

"Are you ready?" He asked her with a slimy smirk. She didn't respond, just stared back at him, keeping up a convincing façade of fearlessness. Truthfully, however, she was feeling more terrified as time went on. The men that had here weren't mastermind criminals, but they were smart enough to keep her until now…and it seemed they were in the last stage of their plan.

The passenger door opened again, and the other man got back in the car. He slid the window back shut so she couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it bounced back, just a little, so she could just barely hear their conversation.

"We got it! Could you believe it'd be empty? Room as nice as that…it'll break us. But, hey…we're goin' to be locked up quite a while when this is all over…might as well spend the money while it counts, right?" The man who had just came back inside the van said.

"Definitely." The other one said, "Just, your sure it's the one next to his, right? We don't want to screw this up."

"Positive. When I said I'd take it the man started talkin' about how lucky I was I got it, said I'd have a famous neighbor…"

Kates head popped up a little. A famous neighbor? She hoped to dead God that 'famous neighbor' wasn't who she thought it was.

The window slid open again, and a baseball cap was thrown at her.

"Put your hair up and put the cap on…we can't have anyone recognizing you." One of them men said. She lifted her head and stared straight back into the cold eyes of the man who had thrown the cap at her.

"No." She stated firmly.

"What did you say?" He spat back at her.

"No," She repeated, "I know what you're planning on doing to me…and I'm not just going to let you get away with it that easily."

The man's nostrils flared with anger, and he leaped into the back of the van by her. She cringed when he roughly pulled the pant leg up on her bad leg, revealing the ugly purple bruises and still open cuts that were starting to look infected.

"That looks pretty nasty, huh?" He asked with an evil grin. He then placed his hands on either side of the bump on her leg where the bone was broken, and pulled roughly at it. Kate squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, almost drawing blood, determined not to let him have the satisfaction of hearing her cry out.

"Now," He said, placing the hat back on her lap, "Put the hat on."

A few minutes later, the two men left the front seats of the van, walking around the sides to the back. They opened the doors wide, and pulled Kate out. She looked up, trying to see where they were, and felt her stomach drop. Her head was pushed back down, though, and one of the men hissed in her ear to keep her face hidden.

It took a great deal of effort, and a mouthful of blood from biting on her lip, for Kate to walk on her leg through the lobby without looking like she was in too much pain.

When the elevator doors opened on their floor, her heart panged slightly as they passed straight by Ricks apartment door- her apartment door. Instead, they continued to the next door. Kate had never known who lived there…she didn't exactly know any of the neighbors, other than by face.

She wished she could figure out exactly what it was that the men were planning, though. Why do it here? They obviously weren't aiming to hurt her family, otherwise they would have tried harder to find Kylee and Nella back in the crawlspace. And, they weren't even in _their_ apartment…so why here?

It became clear to her about 5 minutes after they got into the next door apartment. The point wasn't to have the next door area; it _was_ to get her back in her apartment. They only wanted to get on the floor, so it wouldn't look so suspicious when they broke into the apartment.

"Can't you at least tell me what you're planning…what this whole thing was all about?" She asked them quietly with her head down, "It's not like I'm going to be able to do anything anymore…"

Robert and Joe exchanged glances, shrugged, and then Robert spoke,

"Quite a while ago…your _boyfriend_," He scoffed at the word, "plagiarized one of my books. Of course... he got rich and famous for it… while mine ended up off shelves in all bookshops… barely in any libraries. I was supposed to have his life…was supposed to have the beautiful trophy wife… be on the front page for anything I do. But no, all because of _Richard Castle_."

Kate looked up at him slowly, running all the information through her head.

"So, naturally, when I saw in the papers about you and him… I lost it. And then, I saw you and those two little _brats_," Kate cringed at his word choice for her daughters, "So I decided…Why not just take it all away from him?" His gaze flickered back on Kate and a nasty grin spread across his face, "And, what better way to do it than in his own house? Where he can just watch, helpless, as his whole world crumbles around him."

Joe, in the corner of the room, rolled his eyes, having heard the story too many times before, "Come on, Robert, he's going to be home soon…we want to be ready."

The two lifted Kate to her feet, not caring about the fact that they were practically dragging her, now that they weren't in public anymore. They left the apartment, and walked through the hallway until they were in front of the lofts door. The two let go of Kate, so they could get the door open.

She took a deep, shaky breath, as she watched them work on the door. Knowing she really didn't have much of a chance left, she did the only other thing she could think of. She slowly and carefully, so the two men's attention wouldn't be drawn, undid the strap on her father's watch and slid it off, then reached over her head and slid off her mother's ring on the necklace. She then slowly lowered herself, just enough that she could put the two items gently on the floor.

Just as she straightened herself up, she heard the door click and slide open. She followed one of the men into the loft, the other man walking in behind her, and she turned her head slightly so that she could see that her most beloved possessions still sat just outside the door, where anyone could take them, just before the door shut.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick made his way home, feeling miserable, keeping his head down, and not taking in any of the details of the bustling New York streets around him.

The case to find Kate wasn't going well at all. Almost all the searching had been turned over to the police in the city where she, apparently, had made contact with an old woman in a gas station restroom. Rick, however, still had the feeling that she was still near…in the city. However, his input didn't matter, apparently.

He sighed and leaned against the back of the elevator as it slowly started to rise, beeping as it passed every level.

He pulled out his key from his pocket as he approached his door, and when he looked down at the key hole, something shimmering on the floor caught his eye.

His stomach dropped, his brain all but stopped working, he didn't even realize, but he stopped breathing. His heart stopped, then picked back up at a pace even faster than it had been going after the first time Kate had kissed him, then left him standing in the doorway like an idiot.

Her watch. Her necklace, with her mother's ring on it. Both laid on the ground just outside the door. She would have never taken them off willingly…especially in the situation she was in…they would only be that much more important to her right now. However, here they were. That could only mean one thing…

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach at the idea. However, when he crouched down to pick up the items, his hand stopped mid-reach. The way the items were laid out…if a killer had placed them there to make a point, they wouldn't have been placed there like that. The watch was sitting up on its side carefully, and the necklace draped over the watch carefully, like whoever had placed them there was being especially careful to make sure the chain didn't get tangled. It seemed as though Kate herself had put them there….

But, she never would leave them here, in the middle of a hallway in Manhattan. If she had placed them here…she must have been trying to make a point…a message?

Rick pressed his ear flat against the door, holding his breath and listening carefully. Then, he heard it. Muffled voices…unfamiliar, male voices.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Esposito," The exhausted detective answered the phone. This Beckett case was taking a whole lot out of him, but he refused to rest until she was found. Alive, preferably.

"Espo! She's here! In the apartment!" Castle yelled into the phone. Esposito had a hard time deciding whether his voice sounded more hysterical or thrilled.

"What do you mean?" He asked him quickly, signaling Ryan over from where he sat at his desk and putting the phone on speaker.

"She…she's here!" He exclaimed into the phone again, "But I…I don't think I'm supposed to go in…you guys have to get here…right now. I think she guys that took her are still with her…in the loft."

"We'll be there as soon as possible," Esposito said, standing up and grabbing his coat, "Just, don't go in yet, alright?"

"Alright," Castle said quickly, then shut the phone. He walked back towards his door, having walked away while he made the call so that nobody inside could hear him.

About 10 minutes later, Ryan, Esposito, and a few other officers filed out of the elevator, bulletproof vests on, and guns out. Ryan and Esposito, leading the group, motioned silently for Castle to unlock the door, and both held their guns at the ready and he swung the door open wide.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**OH! Look at that…I betcha I'm gonna be hated for ending it there :)**_

_**Anyway…I've got a few things that need to be said…not storywise, but Castlewise. :D**_

_**Ok…is it just me or does Beckett REALLY look kinda sorta pregnant? Like…totally not trying to be a jerk to Stana if she isn't…lol but like…in the first episode she was wearing a bunch of loose clothes, which isn't really Beckett's style…and then in the 2**__**nd**__** episode there were parts that she really kinda looked like she had a baby bump? :/ I dunno…I feel like we woulda heard about it by now…but I dunno.**_

_**Aannddd second order of business…somewhat of a spoiler alert…not too much really….but I feel like I should warn people anyway so that I wont get yelled at…sooo yah…MAYBE SPOILER ALERT…maybe…: ahhhhhh! Alexander! AHH! Ahahahah…omg I totally geeked out there…AHH! Lol…just had to get that out there to all the other Castle lovers :)**_

_**Anyways…back to the story. Probably 2 chapters left…im thinkin…. :) just as a little warnin to everyone… :D**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Yeesh…so apparently I got quite a few people mad for mentioning that fact that Beckett had been wearing different clothes and looked different and stuff in the last chapter…so…so sorry if I offended anyone…I was just wondering if I was the only one who was thinking that.**_

_**Anyway…on with the story…. :)**_

…ooo...ooo…ooo…ooo…

_Ryan and Esposito, leading the group, motioned silently for Castle to unlock the door, and both held their guns at the ready and he swung the door open wide._

Screams of "NYPD" and "Put your hands where I can see them!" filled the room as Ryan and Esposito filed in through the door, followed by the other cops that came along. It only took a moment before someone yelled "Gun!" and shots began to ring out.

Rick stood outside in the hallway, his back pressed against the wall, and stared blankly forward. He had been told to stay there until they cleared the room, and, although he normally wouldn't have obeyed, he didn't want to risk anything that Kate's life could be depending on, and stayed where he was. However, as soon as he heard the gunshots, he wanted nothing more than to be in there.

Rick could almost picture what was happening in the room just behind the wall he was leaning on when the gunshots stopped. All of the vested officers would still have their guns up, scanning the room before they all left their spots, some to clear the rest of the loft, a couple to go up to kick away the guns from the limp bodies on the floor. The only part Rick couldn't make out in his head, however, was where Kate was in the picture. There were too many possibilities as to what her situation could be.

"Someone call an ambulance!" He heard the rough voice of one of the unfamiliar officers call out. Then, moments later, Esposito appeared outside the door and looked at Castle. His hands were bloody, and Castle felt his stomach drop…who had been hurt? As soon as he gave him a nod of approval, Rick walked quickly into the loft, looking around for any sign of Beckett.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate sat in a wooden chair that the men had placed in the center of the loft, straight in front of the door. Her hands had been tied tightly to the back of the chair, and her ankles were tied down to the chair legs.

The two men stood a few feet behind her, talking in hushed voices that she couldn't make out. All she knew about their plan at this point was that they were planning on waiting for the moment Rick came home so that they could kill her in front of him.

The thought of death hadn't ever really scared her too much. It couldn't, in her line of work. However, now, sitting in the middle of her home, seeing the toys still scattered around messily of her daughters, and picturing the last time she was in here, carefree, with her family surrounding her…she was terrified at the fact that the time was coming. And…she wasn't ready. She wasn't married yet…she hadn't seen her little girls grow up, hadn't been able to see what they would become. She'd never know if they would grow up to look more like her or their father.

Her vision began to blur slightly as she stared down at the ground, and a tear ran down her cheek.

Almost immediately after the first tear escaped, she heard the noise of a key turning the lock outside of the door. Her head snapped up, and she tried to blink away the tears quickly, but in the process only a few more started to fall. The men behind her turned silence, and she heard their footsteps coming up on either side of her. The cool barrel of a small revolver was suddenly pressed roughly into her temple. She only barely saw the door swing open through the blurriness the tears lingering in her eyes were causing.

She expected to hear a gunshot, maybe a scream, then nothing more. However, what she did hear, surprised her completely. The sudden yells of her fellow NYPD officers commanding the men standing on either side of her to put their hands up. One person yelled out gun, and then, the shots she had been waiting for came.

She felt herself relax almost immediately after the gun pressed up to her head fell, along with the man holding it. However, that sense of calm only lasted a moment. She looked over to see what state the other man was in, but only caught a glimpse of him for a fraction of a second. He had been hit, also, but still had a gun in his hand, and was aiming it straight at her head.

The next thing she knew, the chair she was tied up to was on its side, and a searing pain was ripping through her side, and, when she looked down, a small, circular hole in her shirt was quickly becoming stained red with blood.

She let her head fall back and closed her eyes for a moment with a sigh. Then, it seemed as though all in the same moment, it seemed like everyone was surrounding her. Somebody was cutting at the ropes that tied her arms behind her back, and somebody else at the ropes around her legs. Then, she saw Esposito next to her, looking at her with wide, worried eyes, and applying pressure to the bullet hole in her side.

"Where's Castle?" She croaked, inwardly cringing at the sound of her voice. Esposito looked from her, then to one of the officers next to him. He then stood up swiftly, walking out of the room, while another one of the officers took his place.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Rick hurried into the room, his eyes immediately being drawn to the huddle of people huddled around something…someone. His stomach dropped as he walked quickly over to the huddle. Then, he peeked over the rows of heads at where Beckett lay, and, if not for the large amount of blood seeping through her shirt, he would have smiled. When he pictured people who had been shot, he pictured them fearful, determined, angry, in pain…not annoyed. However, that was the only emotion he could read on Kate's face at the moment…she looked solely annoyed at the fact that she was in the situation she was.

"Kate," He said softly, having squeezed in beside her. Her head turned towards his voice, and he could almost see all the annoyance fade from it, and relief fill her eyes instead.

"Rick," She sighed, "Where are the girls?"

"With mother and Alexis," He told her with a grin, then, his smile faded, and worry filled his eyes again as he looked down at her bleeding side, "Are you ok?"

Kate rolled her eyes at him and said stubbornly, "Of course I am."

Ricked nodded once, knowing that disagreeing with her would only make her more annoyed. He didn't believe her, though. While doing various types of researches for his novels, he had found that even the least fatal of wounds could end…badly. In fact, he really didn't start breathing normally again until he was in the hospital waiting room, and the doctor came out and told him that Kate would be completely fine.

Alexis and Martha showed up at the hospital with Kylee and Nella about a half hour after Rick had gotten there. The girls had ran up to their father and looked up at him with blinding smiles,

"Is mommy back now?" They asked him happily. Rick grinned down at them, nodded, and wrapped them both in a big hug.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Ackk…I really didn't like the ending of this chapter.. :/ **_

_**Aanndddd next chapters gonna be the last one…. :((( sniffle sniffle…its almost over… :(**_

_**Anyway….reviews are always nice… :D**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Alrighty! Last chapter! :O …its gonna be more like…an epilogue of sorts than anything else… :)**_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Kate stared at herself in the long mirror, a smile creeping onto her face.

If somewhere were to have told her a year or two ago that she would be standing where she were now, she would have laughed in their face. No, actually…she probably would have shot them. Or, threatened to, at least.

Now, however, she couldn't be happier to be where she was.

Her hair lay flat on her head, as she hadn't felt the need to overdo it. Her mother's wedding dress had been fitted perfectly, and Kate wore it proudly, glad that parts of her mom could be with her today.

"Katie?" She heard he father call quietly from the door behind her. She spun around to see him standing awkwardly in the doorway. His eyes started to well up at the sight of her, and she swept across the room and hugged him tightly.

"You look just like her," He said, looking at her, his eyes shining, "She would have been so proud."

"Thanks, dad," She said quietly, hugging him once more before stepping back and taking a deep breath, "Is it time?"

Her father nodded once, a smile grin on his face. She swallowed hard, but couldn't help the smile that crept up onto her face as she walked out of the room with her dad.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

Minutes. Only a matter of minutes, and she would really be his…finally.

Rick stood up in front of the crowd, bouncing impatiently on his heels every once and a while, keeping his eyes plastered on the archway in the back that she would be…soon.

A sudden high pitched squeal tore his eyes away from the archway. He looked over at the front row of chairs to see Nella and Kylee giggling in their grandmas arms. Alexis wasn't with them, she was up front by him, standing as a bridesmaid along with Lanie and Amanda. On Ricks other side, Ryan and Esposito stood, trying their best not to make fools of themselves in front of the large group of people sitting in the chairs spread out in front of them all.

A sudden commotion in the back had Rick returning his gaze to its previous spot, and his eyes widened at the sight.

Kate was standing under the archway, her eyes slightly wider than was usual for her. She was biting her lip ever so slightly, and Rick could see that she was tapping her toe slightly. Her arm was linked with her fathers, and her was looking at her, his eyes filled with pride.

Heads turned, and music started to play. Kate's eyes met Rick's, and she smiled shyly as her and her father slowly made their way up the aisle.

Once up front, Rick took her father's place. He looked at her, his eyes tender and a wide smile on his face, before grabbing onto her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"Mrs. Castle?" Rick murmured quietly from behind Kate.

"Yes?" She said, turning around to face him and smiling slightly.

"May I have this dance?" He held out his hand dramatically just as their song they had agreed upon came on.

Kate grinned, taking his hand and allowing him to lead them out onto the cleared dance floor. They started swaying and twirling around to the music.

"You know," He said after a few moments, "I've never really understood how women can actually function in those," He gestured down to her heels she wore, "When I tried to-"

"You've tried them?" Kate interrupted, an amused smile stretching across her face.

"What? I was curious," He shrugged, "Anyway, as I was saying…when I tried to just walk in them, I fell flat on my face after one step."

Kate sighed, "Well, I don't think they're really made for men's feet," She paused for a moment, smirking at the look he gave her, "And, I've ran down murderers in these things before…I should be able to dance in them."

While the two danced, other couples began to join them out on the dance floor. Eventually, the two only swayed in their own spot, for they didn't have much extra space before they would run into another couple.

Kate's eyes suddenly widened, then narrowed as she shook her head slightly at something.

"What?" Rick asked her, following her line of eyesight to try to see what she had seen. It took him a moment or two of searching, before his eyes, too, widened in shock. He turned back to Kate with a grin on his face, "Well, it looks like we aren't the only new couple tonight."

"I guess not," She said with a smile, looking away from where Lanie and Esposito had stopped their dancing and where now submerged in a deep kiss.

"May I?" Jim Beckett asked Rick cautiously, having walked up slowly behind him and tapped him on his shoulder. Rick grinned, backing away from Kate and leaving her with her father.

The two stayed silent for a moment, neither having anything to say.

"You know," Jim finally said, "I can picture what Johanna is probably doing right now," His gaze stayed distant when Kate looked down at him with curious eyes, "She's probably somewhat surprised… because, as perfect as Rick is for you, you definitely never seemed like the kind of girl who would marry a celebrity. But, she's also extremely happy… glad that you found somebody so good for you. She's probably getting pretty teary eyed, watching this all… seeing how beautiful you are dancing around with your husband." He looked up, and saw that Kate's eyes were filled with tears. He reached up to wipe one that had fallen away, "And, she's probably laughing at how I'm still tripping over my own feet, just like I did at our wedding night."

"Dad," She said quietly, reaching down and hugging him tightly.

"She's proud of you," He said back, "I know that,"

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

"I've never been in a limo…" Kate mused as she crawled in the back of the long black car after Rick.

"Well, it's a good time to start, then," He said happily, wrapping his arm around her back once she was next to him.

"And, let me guess," She said, "You still aren't going to tell me where we're going?"

"Not a chance," He responded almost immediately with a chuckle.

"Course…" She mumbled.

"It'll be a good surprise, I promise," He said, turning his head and whispering into her ears, "I love you, Kate Castle."

She turned her head, also, so their foreheads were resting on each others. She then leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his lips before leaning back a little again, "I love you, too, Richard Castle."

_The End…_

…ooo…ooo…ooo…ooo…

_**Hahahahahahahhahaha CHHHEEEEEEESSYYY! Lol oh goodness.**_

_**Its over… :O Oh me oh my…**_

_**I love you all, my dearest readers…you are all soooo amazing aannnddd awesome aaanndddd magnificent aaannnndddd…sweeto :D**_

_**Alright. So…yep…I'm done here. Dearest everyone reading this, give me one last reaction as to how you liked the story…it would mean a lot to me :))))) **_

_**PEACE OUT!**_


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